An energetic introduction to a new superhero.
A feisty young teen explores the literal power of art.
Ever since her abusive father was imprisoned, spunky graffiti artist Ashley has bounced from foster home to foster home. When she finally finds a new family she jibes with, she’s cautiously optimistic. Kitch Nolan is a visual artist while his wife, Yuka, is a geneticist for Zecromax Labs. They’re overjoyed to welcome Ashley into their life, but Yuka grows increasingly distant. Soon Ashley discovers that Yuka is keeping a secret: She’s stolen some prototype Project Warpaint. A new secret weapon coveted by the military, this is body paint imbued with superhero powers, one per color. When Ashley accidentally activates the paints and begins experimenting with them, she decides to assume a superhero identity, becoming the titular Primer with the help of her new friend Luke. Soon she realizes she’s up against a bigger threat than your average bad guy. A supersoldier is hunting down this new secret weapon and is more than happy to take out Ashley in the process. The character design has slightly exaggerated features (white-presenting Ashley has oversized eyes and a petite waist), and the illustration style is realistic, dynamic, and, of course, colorful. Readers willing to overlook slight inconsistencies in characterization and questions about worldbuilding will find this read delightful and look forward to future chapters. The Nolans are an interracial couple, and Luke presents black.
An energetic introduction to a new superhero. (Graphic adventure. 8-14)Pub Date: June 23, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4012-9657-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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
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
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