Bloody good.
Life goes on as usual—even when it’s anything but.
On the day before the start of middle school, Tom Marks was bitten by a vampire bat, a werewolf, and a zombie and had to adjust to a drastically altered reality: that of a Vam-Wolf-Zom, as related in series opener Middle School Bites (2020). But within the week, Tom must return to life as usual. The world of a middle schooler is rich and mercilessly tumultuous, rife with burgeoning crushes, Halloween protests, school-bus bullies, failed band practices, dances, and sibling rivalries—and, of course, mad scientists, moonlit transformations, and mysterious, centuries-old vampire girls guarding the secrets to your survival. With friends old, unexpected, and new by his side, Tom gears up to tackle challenges both banal and bizarre as they come flying (sometimes quite literally) at him. This sequel takes a more slice-of-life approach than its action-packed predecessor. The slower pace and almost episodic nature take some getting used to, especially in the first third, where exposition must balance the introduction of new characters and plot elements. Once the story hits its stride, however, it becomes not only enjoyable, but engrossing, adroitly juggling a larger cast and deeper dives into side characters’ psyches. The witty frankness of Tom’s narration consistently amuses, keeping readers firmly on his side as he grows as a person and in his powers.
Bloody good. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4615-5
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020
Tenderly resonant and memorable.
Ferris finds herself in the midst of several love stories during the summer before fifth grade.
Emma Phineas Wilkey’s moniker comes from the circumstances of her birth: under the Ferris wheel at the fairground. Her contained world, centered around her family and best friend, is filled with kindness, humor, and singular personalities, while the indeterminate late-20th-century small-town setting feels like a safe place from which to observe heartbreak and loss. Ferris’ architect father and her pragmatic mother, on break from teaching high school math, anchor her home life, along with Pinky, her hilariously ferocious 6-year-old sister, and Charisse, her grandmother, who claims to have seen an unhappy ghost in their big old house. Ferris’ best friend, Billy Jackson, whom she’s loved since kindergarten, hears the music of the world: “The whole world is singing all the time.” Ferris, serious and sensitive, is attuned to the ways that the vocabulary words they learned in Mrs. Mielk’s fourth grade class describe moments in her life. DiCamillo’s gift for conveying an entire person and world in a few brushstrokes of storytelling provides depth and quiet magic to this account of an eventful summer in which a ghost is appeased, an outlaw (Pinky) is somewhat reformed, and an uncle and aunt are reconciled. Ferris experiences two surprising moments of transcendence and becomes aware of the ways love suffuses everything. Characters are cued white.
Tenderly resonant and memorable. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781536231052
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all.
Eleven-year-old Frank must solve a supernatural mystery to save his new home.
As fifth grade comes to an end, Frank Fernández is looking forward to finally staying put in Alabama for a second year, as promised, after a childhood spent following his parents’ home renovation work all across the country. Frequent relocation has made Frank wary of forming friendships or making plans, but his hopes for more stability are temporarily dashed when his parents announce plans to renovate a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, near where his mother grew up and his father’s home country of Cuba. Papi promises this will be their last move, though: The lighthouse will be theirs. But from their first day on Spectacle Key, things seem to go wrong: Tensions rise between his parents, and Frank’s hopes of a forever home are under threat from seemingly supernatural forces. In order to put down roots, Frank and new ghostly friend Connie, a White girl with freckles, must discover what secrets the island is hiding, uncovering Frank’s own family roots along the way. Frank is a fan of horror—he names his new Great Dane puppy Mary Shelley. But though there is some mild peril to be found, rather than a ghostly thriller, this is an appealing, lightly spooky family drama with valuable lessons for those who would hide from a difficult past instead of confronting and healing generational trauma.
Supernatural mystery meets generational drama with hopeful endings for all. (Supernatural. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-313481-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
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