Even if not fully disquieting, the fast pace and unusual characters will keep most readers turning the pages.
Gordon (The Gorillas of Gill Park, 2003, etc.) sets the stage for an eerie fantasy that doesn’t quite live up to its potential.
Cully Pennyacre, 12, reluctantly becomes the apprentice of antiques dealer Batty, who seems to be up to something with his shadow-collecting hobby. In the back of his store, Batty runs an apparatus that neatly removes people’s shadows. He has plenty of willing participants who aren’t warned that, once shadowless, they will be sadly incomplete. Appalled, Cully stays on because he needs the money to help keep his family apple farm running, a job made all the more difficult since his father disappeared a year ago, leaving his quirky aunts to run the business. Batty’s granddaughter, Isabel, a notably unpopular classmate of Cully’s, seems to know more about the shadow business and her malevolent aunt and uncle’s determination to acquire the Pennyacre farm than she’s telling, at least at first. As Cully’s friendship with Isabel strengthens, she develops some emotional energy to defy her nasty relatives. Eccentric characters, both good and evil, add life to the tale, but the bad ones become increasingly caricature-like, diminishing their menacing effect. Unfortunately, as the tale becomes less grounded in reality, it also begins to lose its atmospheric threat.
Even if not fully disquieting, the fast pace and unusual characters will keep most readers turning the pages. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: April 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2359-0
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls.
Three young ghost trappers take on deadly wraiths and solve an old murder case in the bargain to kick off Stroud’s new post-Bartimaeus series.
Narrator Lucy Carlyle hopes to put her unusual sensitivity to supernatural sounds to good use by joining Lockwood & Co.—one of several firms that have risen to cope with the serious ghost Problem that has afflicted England in recent years. As its third member, she teams with glib, ambitious Anthony Lockwood and slovenly-but-capable scholar George Cubbins to entrap malign spirits for hire. The work is fraught with peril, not only because a ghost’s merest touch is generally fatal, but also, as it turns out, as none of the three is particularly good at careful planning and preparation. All are, however, resourceful and quick on their feet, which stands them in good stead when they inadvertently set fire to a house while discovering a murder victim’s desiccated corpse. It comes in handy again when they later rashly agree to clear Combe Carey Hall, renowned for centuries of sudden deaths and regarded as one of England’s most haunted manors. Despite being well-stocked with scream-worthy ghastlies, this lively opener makes a light alternative for readers who find the likes of Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series too grim and creepy for comfort.
A heartily satisfying string of entertaining near-catastrophes, replete with narrow squeaks and spectral howls. (Ghost adventure. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.
Siblings decode familial and wartime secrets in 1940 England.
Headstrong 14-year-old Lizzie Novis refuses to believe that her mother, a U.S. embassy clerk who was working in Poland, is dead. After fleeing from her grandmother—who’s attempting to bring her back to America—Lizzie locates her 19-year-old brother, Jakob, a Cambridge mathematician who’s stationed at the clandestine British intelligence site called Bletchley Park. Hiding from her grandmother’s estate steward, Lizzie becomes a messenger at Bletchley Park, ferrying letters across the grounds while Jakob attempts to both break the ciphers generated by the German Enigma machines and help his sister face the reality of their mother’s likely fate. With a suspicious MI5 agent inquiring about Mum and clues and codes piling up, the siblings, whose late father was “Polish Jewish British,” eventually decipher the truth. Shared narrative duties between the siblings effectively juxtapose the measured Jakob with the spirited Lizzie. Lizzie’s directness is repeatedly attributed to her being “half American,” which proves tiresome, but Jakob’s development from reserved to risk-tolerant provides welcome nuance. The authors introduce and carefully explain a variety of decoding methodologies, inspiring readers to attempt their own. A thoughtful and entertaining historical note identifies the key figures who appear in the book, such as Alan Turing, as well as the real-life bases for the fictional characters. Interspersed photos and images of ephemera help situate the narrative’s time period.
A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. (Historical mystery. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9780593527542
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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