Breakneck pacing and intelligent writing make this an undeniably entertaining read for espionage aficionados of all ages.
This espionage thriller for young readers—the first installment of a planned series—revolves around a boy recruited to be an operative for a secret organization whose mission is to protect the world from evil.
Jake Hale, a 14-year-old kid with an overactive imagination, is having an uneventful summer. Upon hearing the news that his parents believe an abandoned house in the neighborhood may be inhabited by squatters, Jake—pretending to be a secret agent—borrows his father’s bird-watching binoculars and stakes out the building. But instead of finding bank robbers on the run or a band of ninja assassins, Jake discovers something even more incredible: Two teenage agents from a secret intelligence agency called Stormglass are in Jake’s neighborhood to recruit him. After befriending Lizzie and Filby, the kid spies, Jake learns the specifics of their mission—to stop the head of a multinational corporation from killing off all of the planet’s honeybees with genetically modified killer bees, which would put the future of humankind in jeopardy. From there, Jake embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Like a Bond adventure for kids, the storyline is action-packed, pedal-to-the-metal paced, replete with cool high-tech gadgetry, and powered by a smart, at times humorous narrative tone. The storyline verges on implausibility in places, but the confident, fluid writing helps make it work. And although it was obviously written with young readers in mind, the deeply speculative premise (involving genetic manipulation, looming environmental collapse and terrorism) is so intriguing and timely that older readers could enjoy it, too. At the novel’s conclusion, a subtle reference to John le Carré’s classic spy novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) is not only brilliant but fitting.
Breakneck pacing and intelligent writing make this an undeniably entertaining read for espionage aficionados of all ages.Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989933605
Page Count: 278
Publisher: Stormglass Ventures LLC
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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