A breezy adventure that lives in the moment; tremendous fun.
In this middle-grade sequel, a young French spy goes undercover at an elite English boarding school.
Twelve-year-old Simone LaFray is a junior operative for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Having helped to apprehend “The Whisper”—an international conflict broker and son of the renowned criminal hacker “The Maestro”—Simone is ready for her next case. This takes her to London, where junior agent Claire Pilfrey has been kidnapped from a wealthy boarding school. Claire’s last report suggests that she’d obtained the OmniKey—an invention of The Maestro’s that allows access to any computer network—and hidden it “somewhere safe” on campus. Simone embarks on an undercover mission at the school, taking her best friend, The V, with her. But solving the case won’t be easy. Simone, who prefers to go unnoticed and keep her own company, will have to mingle with Claire’s classmates (“Who were Claire’s friends? Who were her enemies?”). Furthermore, London has fallen prey to a gang of vigilante art protesters, and Simone discovers that “La Volpe Rossa” (The Red Fox), the villain from her first adventure, was, until recently, the school’s art teacher. Can Simone untangle the entwined threads of mystery, find the OmniKey, and rescue Claire? O’Farrell writes in the first person, past tense, affording insight into the intellectual maturity and self-aware social unease that underlie Simone’s preternatural competence. The London setting is a bit tourist generic and not as evocative as the Paris of Simone’s first case. Nonetheless, the prose skips along nicely and the story surges forward. The author has an ear for dialogue and a knack for dropping clues—some that lead readers toward possible solutions, others that deepen the intrigue. Simone is a likable viewpoint character. Her observational and analytical skills are impressive yet she refreshingly reflects her age and can be knocked off-kilter by everyday issues. Unfortunately, the book is far from self-contained. O’Farrell drops in returning characters (Madame Fontaine, The V) without introduction and only late in the story confirms such basic information as Simone’s age and that a girl named Mia is her sister. The ending is also more a teaser for the next installment than a denouement in its own right. Regardless, fans of the first volume are sure to approve.
A breezy adventure that lives in the moment; tremendous fun.Pub Date: April 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-953021-35-9
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Brandylane Publishers, Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story.
A home-renovation project is interrupted by a family of wrens, allowing a young girl an up-close glimpse of nature.
Renata and her father enjoy working on upgrading their bathroom, installing a clawfoot bathtub, and cutting a space for a new window. One warm night, after Papi leaves the window space open, two wrens begin making a nest in the bathroom. Rather than seeing it as an unfortunate delay of their project, Renata and Papi decide to let the avian carpenters continue their work. Renata witnesses the birth of four chicks as their rosy eggs split open “like coats that are suddenly too small.” Renata finds at a crucial moment that she can help the chicks learn to fly, even with the bittersweet knowledge that it will only hasten their exits from her life. Rosen uses lively language and well-chosen details to move the story of the baby birds forward. The text suggests the strong bond built by this Afro-Latinx father and daughter with their ongoing project without needing to point it out explicitly, a light touch in a picture book full of delicate, well-drawn moments and precise wording. Garoche’s drawings are impressively detailed, from the nest’s many small bits to the developing first feathers on the chicks and the wall smudges and exposed wiring of the renovation. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)
Renata’s wren encounter proves magical, one most children could only wish to experience outside of this lovely story. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-12320-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
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