Competent, if somewhat rambling.
A shelter dog is given a chance to become a search-and-rescue dog.
Ember, a yellow Lab mix, is a tiny puppy when she is rescued from a house fire by dark-skinned firefighter Marcus and brought to a shelter. But after the third adoptive family returns her, Jo, the shelter director, on a hunch, calls a ranch that trains SAR dogs, and they agree to give Ember a try. Authors Mason and Stephens go into copious but interesting detail about the procedure of training SAR dogs, but the many human characters the plot introduces are dizzying: The ranch is peopled by interracial parents Georgia (a trilingual Eritrean German immigrant) and Martin (a white American), their four biracial children, Latinx handler/trainer Pedro, and white dog-trainer Roxanne. The children, especially, have their own tangential subplots, which has the effect of diffusing, rather than focusing, the plot. This wandering focus is not helped by the narrative point of view, which switches from character to character, often within scenes. The story finds its footing again when Marcus (who by coincidence is at the ranch training to be a SAR handler) and Ember reconnect to become a team. Kudos to the story’s easy character diversity and equity in gender roles, but the pace can be meandering, and eagerly anticipated action doesn’t appear until the last 50 pages.
Competent, if somewhat rambling. (Fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-36202-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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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