A fast-paced if culturally questionable novel for readers who enjoy magic, science, or a little bit of both.
Evans combines spirit animals, shape-shifting magic, and the scientific method in this sequel-primed, middle-grade debut.
After the disappearance of his mother and the growing absence of his father, Raul has gotten used to being a loner. With few friends and even fewer words, Raul spends his time at boarding school looking after the younger students, trying to catch the attention of his crush, and avoiding the vicious phys ed teacher, Mr. Tuffman. But Raul also has a secret—when the rest of the kids at school go home on Fridays, Raul slips away to the White Deer Woods, where he transforms into a wolf (“not a werewolf, don’t say a werewolf”), and, just for the weekend, he isn’t alone. But when a far more dangerous predator begins stalking the woods and friends quickly become enemies, Raul must scramble to save what is closest to his heart and discovers he is not the only one hiding secrets. Evans’ whirlwind retelling of the medieval Breton tale “Bisclavret” unspools in Raul’s scattered and emotionally embroiling narration. Though it’s conveniently resolved, it also leaves more questions than answers in a plot clearly eager for a sequel. Though an author’s note cites its original European inspiration, there is no specific sourcing of the indigenous folklore (mostly Pacific Northwest Indian) she plaits with it, nor is Raul’s heritage explored.
A fast-paced if culturally questionable novel for readers who enjoy magic, science, or a little bit of both. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: July 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4480-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...
Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.).
Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK TO SCREEN
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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