A dark vision with optimistic, even puckish, strains burnishes a unique legacy.
The great maverick illustrator sends Earth’s last two beings on a dreamlike odyssey in this posthumous and, possibly, final outing.
Through empty streets wanders Vasco, aimlessly following his long shadow—which guides him safely past toppling buildings, sudden floods, and other dangers to an abandoned hospital, where he finds and takes charge of Poco, a green, insectile child. Everyone else has, as the spare narrative has it, “gone to the moon,” and even the plants and animals have disappeared. All that is left are desolate land- and cityscapes, infused in the illustrations with low-angled light and feelings of loneliness. Together the adult and child make their way through further hazards ranging from a refinery on the brink of collapse to a cluster of tree-eating military tanks, on the way at last to a “phantasmagorical” new home…which turns out to be a giant cake where the two remain, “sheltered in peace” thereafter. Though catastrophes to be escaped (as the refrain has it) “JUST IN TIME!” rear up with titular frequency, they are so neatly drawn as to have a ritualistic air, not so much creating dramatic highlights as checking off surreal disasters natural or otherwise. The two figures are drawn generally back to viewers and remain tiny on the page, but they still draw both eye and heart as, holding resolutely on to each other, they weather every threat to reach safe harbor at last. “DON’T HOPE COPE” reads a sign that Vasco passes in one scene. As last words go, not bad.
A dark vision with optimistic, even puckish, strains burnishes a unique legacy. (Picture book. 9-up)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-83866-159-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Phaidon
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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