The plot is hardly ever credible, but readers will be too scared to notice. And the best horror stories don’t need to make...
Some kids have been waiting their entire lives for a book about a floating eyeball, even if they didn’t know it. This is that book.
This is the kind of book that’s impossible to describe to a friend. Anyone who tries will sound like a small child describing a dream: This boy is in a cemetery. And he pricks his eye on top of a gravestone. And then his eye starts floating out of his head, and it’s flying around everywhere. And then the eye starts telling him to do things, only no one else can hear it. A five-word description might be better: It is a horror story. It has enough gross-out effects to appeal to R.L. Stine fans, and a few scenes near the end are frightening enough to scare full-grown adults. Like the classic Tales of the Crypt comics and Twilight Zone episodes, this is a story with no happy ending. Readers need to know that going in, since for several chapters in a row, it looks as though Jake and his friends might find a way to defeat the monsters. It’s important to remember the title of the book.
The plot is hardly ever credible, but readers will be too scared to notice. And the best horror stories don’t need to make any more sense than a dream—or a nightmare. (Horror. 9-12)Pub Date: June 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9867914-7-5
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Star Crossed Press
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
After Castro’s takeover, nine-year-old Julian and his older brothers are sent away by their fearful parents via “Operation Pedro Pan” to a camp in Miami for Cuban-exile children. Here he discovers that a ruthless bully has essentially been put in charge. Julian is quicker-witted than his brothers or anyone else ever imagined, though, and with his inherent smarts, developing maturity and the help of child and adult friends, he learns to navigate the dynamics of the camp and surroundings and grows from the former baby of the family to independence and self-confidence. A daring rescue mission at the end of the novel will have readers rooting for Julian even as it opens his family’s eyes to his courage and resourcefulness. This autobiographical novel is a well-meaning, fast-paced and often exciting read, though at times the writing feels choppy. It will introduce readers to a not-so-distant period whose echoes are still felt today and inspire admiration for young people who had to be brave despite frightening and lonely odds. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-168-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
Eleven-year-old Griffin Bing is “the man with the plan.” If something needs doing, Griffin carefully plans a fix and his best friend Ben usually gets roped in as assistant. When the town council ignores his plan for a skate park on the grounds of the soon-to-be demolished Rockford House, Griffin plans a camp-out in the house. While there, he discovers a rare Babe Ruth baseball card. His family’s money worries are suddenly a thing of the past, until unscrupulous collectables dealer S. Wendell Palomino swindles him. Griffin and Ben plan to snatch the card back with a little help. Pet-lover Savannah whispers the blood-thirsty Doberman. Rock-climber “Pitch” takes care of scaling the house. Budding-actor Logan distracts the nosy neighbor. Computer-expert Melissa hacks Palomino’s e-mail and the house alarm. Little goes according to plan, but everything turns out all right in this improbable but fun romp by the prolific and always entertaining Korman. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-439-90344-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
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