A thoughtful adventure about navigating changing friendships and the mysterious tunnels beneath Paris.
Hugo, an autistic boy with a deep fondness for maps, explores the tunnels beneath Paris, seeking lost treasure and the friendship he craves.
Smells, loud sounds, and bright lights can be overwhelming for 12-year-old Hugo; his habit of wearing sunglasses indoors has led to the nickname “Spy,” used even by his former friend Alex. Most of the time, Hugo appreciates his photographic memory and other neurodivergent abilities, although they’ve gradually distanced him from Alex and his other former friend, Julie. Even reviewing the social story cards used by his perceptive occupational therapist, Mathilde, doesn’t help his attempts at friendship. During a school field trip, Hugo learns of the network of tunnels beneath Paris, extending far beyond the famous catacombs. This revelation leads him to research historical maps at the public library. The librarian tells him of the cataphiles, underground explorers, and their accepting and nonjudgmental ways. She also tells him about the Urban eXperiment, a secretive cataphile group, and a bottle of chartreuse that was discovered beside the skeleton of the man who got lost while trying to steal it. It’s rumored to be belowground in a secret wine cellar—and Hugo wants to find it. Hugo’s self-aware first-person narration invites readers into his sensory experiences. Charming illustrations add to the enjoyment. Occasional French words and Briticisms can be deduced from context. Julie is of Chinese descent, and most other characters read white.
A thoughtful adventure about navigating changing friendships and the mysterious tunnels beneath Paris. (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781802635515
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Clock Tower Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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