Droll science-fiction elements send this tale of relatable family issues to delightfully surprising places.
A loopy plan for multigenerational reconciliation hinges on the hunt for little green aliens.
Because of a silly rule about unaccompanied minors, 11-year-old Lenore Peabody is forced to sneak through a window to visit her beloved Grandpa Walt at the Shady Elms Retirement Home. As Lenore, known to family and friends as Lemon, explains, Walt is virtually estranged from Dad; thus the covert visits. Walt and Lemon are deep into Project Validation, Grandpa’s long-running effort to prove that he actually did encounter a gnomelike alien 30 years ago. All the evidence is kept in a fat binder under Grandpa’s bed. Truthfully, Lemon comes to visit to hear Walt’s wild tales, casting all the garden gnomes in the neighborhood in a different light. Lemon and best friend Marlo had planned on a Super Chill Summer, but Grandpa’s yarn-spinning has set her on a path to verify the story and, not incidentally, trigger a reunion between Walt and Dad. Lyall weaves her earthbound story into the adventure of the above-mentioned aliens—and delightfully so. The chapters have a lively, starship-adventure feel that plays nicely against Lemon’s artless storytelling. All the aliens have appropriately gnomeworthy names like Gnedley, Gneelix, Gnilsson, and their leader, Capt. Gnemo. Lemon and her family read White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast.
Droll science-fiction elements send this tale of relatable family issues to delightfully surprising places. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9780063239821
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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
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