Mostly fun for confirmed fantasy fans, and even their enthusiasm will be diluted by what feels less like narrative and more...
A hodgepodge quartet of Brooklyn teens joins forces to defend against the unraveling of time.
Edward prefers invisibility to eighth-grade social echelons. Feenix is a gangly queen bee who dishes up acidic insults and trickery. Painfully shy Brigit has been rendered mute by a familial tragedy. Athletic Danton is the goodwill ambassador and friend to all. When they each touch a peculiar stone, they become the only ones capable of preventing the destruction of time. The stone is a Time Fetch, containing time foragers who, under the right command, gather bits of unused time. In the wrong hands, they spell a fast-forward destruction of the world. With four starkly different eighth-grade archetypes, readers are likely to find themselves somewhere in the mix. Each character is interesting enough (though Edward’s pagan aunt is generally more intriguing than all four combined), and the book isn’t without quirky moments: three gruesome sister witches, panthers stalking in Prospect Park, a shape-shifting villain with backward thumbs. Hope for a fluid narrative is stalled by theorizing and philosophizing about time, and occasional choppy phrasing is equally off-putting.
Mostly fun for confirmed fantasy fans, and even their enthusiasm will be diluted by what feels less like narrative and more like lesson. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-61620-220-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Wyatt (The Science Book for Girls, 1997, etc.) adopts an alien’s-eye-view of earthlings, comparing the human body with that of a friendly lifeform from outer space. A cartoon anatomical outline charts the alien Danoid’s first encounter with Pete. Danoid labels hands as primary manipulatives, feet as planet connectors, and knees, multidirectional movement facilitators. Earthling skin, hair, brains, bones, muscles, and organs are measured by these compare-and-contrast standards, delivering information along the way. Sifting through a flurry of text, readers will stumble upon headings marked “Science Fair Ideas,” consisting of simple, at-home experiments such as tracking one’s pulse with a dab of modeling clay or smelling foods that have strong odors. While the concept is attention-getting, and often humorous, the actual information is often overwhelmed by distracting asides, experiments, and reports filed to Danoid’s commander; this compendium may be more worthwhile for browsers than researchers. (diagrams, index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55074-511-5
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Opening episodes of a comic-book series created by an American teacher in Japan take a leap into chapter-book format, with only partial success. Resembling—in occasional illustrations—a button-eyed, juvenile Olive Oyl, Akiko, 10, is persuaded by a pair of aliens named Bip and Bop to climb out her high-rise bedroom’s window for a trip to M&M-shaped Planet Smoo, where Prince Fropstoppit has been kidnapped by widely feared villainness Alia Rellaport. Along with an assortment of contentious sidekicks, including brainy Mr. Beeba, Akiko battles Sky Pirates and video-game-style monsters in prolonged scenes of cartoony violence, displaying resilience, courage, and leadership ability, but not getting very far in her rescue attempt; in fact, the story cuts off so abruptly, with so little of the quest completed, and at a lull in the action to boot, that readers expecting a self-contained (forget complete) story are likely to feel cheated. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-32724-2
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
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