In a well-realized medieval world, Jordan (The Secret Sacrament, 2001, etc.) introduces one small element of fantasy: the last dragon left on earth. Jude is no accomplished hero, but has a sort of bravery in him alongside a native intelligence and genuine kindness. After his village is destroyed by the dragon, Jude is taken in by Tybalt, who runs a sort of traveling sideshow that includes a Chinese woman with bound feet who is treated like a beast. Lizzie Little-legs and Jude gradually become friends and later partners in their quest to kill the last dragon. This beast has created great havoc in a drought summer, the fire spreading cruelly with entire village populations as victims. A sense of safety is provided by a narrative device that has Jude dictating to a monk long after all danger is over. Lizzie, whose actual name is Jing-wei, provides the knowledge of gunpowder and kites that are used to attack the dragon, as well as other Chinese innovations not yet common in England, such as silk and paper. Jing-wei consistently is the heroine, whose essential knowledge and determination make each step possible. Whether she will remain with Jude or try to return to her home country illustrates the tough choices of even involuntary immigrants and provides some additional suspense. Jordan creates an appealing and sedate romance in an unusual place and time for younger readers than her usual, more complex work. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-06-028902-3
Page Count: 128
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
The Galactic Confederation is nothing if not fair. Before they commit to annihilating the human race, they’ll send an emissary to ensure it is without redemption. Ketchvar III, a hyperintelligent snail from the planet Sandoval, is determined to find the worth of the human race by merging consciousness with the most typical specimen of humanity he can find. That specimen is Tom Filber, “Caucasian, fourteen years old, and in good health.” But perhaps Ketchvar has chosen poorly: Tom’s mother is a violent, shrewish woman, his father is an unemployed alcoholic and his classmates—though ignorant of Ketchvar—all refer to Tom as “Alien.” Are humans truly vile, or has Ketchvar chosen a particularly dysfunctional family to analyze? Not surprisingly, Ketchvar’s study of humanity becomes a life lesson for Ketchvar himself, as he tries to fix some of the problems in Tom’s family and town. Despite hackneyed gender stereotypes and a cast of stock characters, the painful humor (or perhaps the humorous pain) of Ketchvar’s adventure will win fans. (Science fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 16, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-39951-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
The worldbuilding of countless eco-thrillers serves here as the setting for a classic Western. A Western, that is, with plankton instead of cows, harpoons instead of six-shooters and submarines instead of covered wagons. Ty lives below the ocean, in a future in which water levels have risen and Topsiders live cramped together in unbearable conditions. Undersea, any brave settler can stake a claim and build a huge homestead. Ty was born down here, and he loves it. When he encounters freckle-faced Topsider orphan Gemma, he revels in showing her his world, from inflatable houses shaped like jellyfish to beautiful schools of swordfish. If only they weren’t in danger from the villainous Seablite gang that keeps attacking homesteads! This caper features a slew of Western standards—the crabby old doctor (“Doc”), the saloon filled with bandanna-clad thugs, the posse of furious citizens—and a few plot twists keep the tension high. A thrilling conversion of the classics to one of our newer frontiers. (Science fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-17814-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
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