Though ambitious, this Gothic misses the mark.
Four orphans employ highly unusual talents to solve a series of murders in 1930s New York City.
Dumfrey’s Dime Museum of Freaks, Oddities, and Wonders displays mummies, wax figures, depictions of grisly crime scenes, and now an amazing shrunken head, all to titillate the public. A giant, a fat lady, an elephant man, and others demonstrate their skills and amaze the customers. But the tale is centered on young Sam, Pippa, Thomas, and Max, children whose peculiar abilities set them apart from the world while joining them together into a kind of family unit. The action begins when a customer dies after seeing the shrunken head. When the head is then stolen, headlines scream the events, and suspicion falls on Dumfrey and the children. Trying to save him and the only home they know, the children find themselves ever more deeply enmeshed in difficulties as the bodies mount up and danger stalks them. The plot abounds with action and mystery, but it is filled with red herrings and detours as well as oft-repeated hints about the identity of the master villain. The four orphans’ characters develop very slowly, and their interactions are repetitive and predictable, while the supporting characters, though large in number, are almost entirely one-dimensional. Much of the tale feels self-consciously trope-dependent, too reminiscent of other works and with not enough original material to carry the day.
Though ambitious, this Gothic misses the mark. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-227081-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Heartwarming fare for young pet owners who feel the love and loyalty going both ways.
Devotion permeates this tale of a small dog who’s swept up in a peasants’ revolt against a greedy king.
Inflamed with righteousness in the wake of yet another tax hike, 12-year-old Tom has defied his parents to slip away and join the revolutionary Reds. Stoutly declaring that he’s a good dog, 5-year-old Rebel chases after him to bring his beloved boy back—and discovers a wide new world beyond the farm, fraught with dangers but also rich in animal friends offering help and advice. Just as beguiling as the furry narrator’s dog’s-eye view of events are his ongoing arguments with Jaxon, a gruff feral hound he meets along the way, who urges him to find his wild inner True Dog. Jaxon’s refusal to be bound by emotional attachments ultimately clashes with Rebel’s big, uncomplicated heart. Following a brush with death, Rebel encounters a mystical Companion, who offers him glimpses of dog heaven; when the climactic battle arrives, Rebel declares, “I get to decide what I do with my one and only life. And if I use it for anything, I’m going to use it for love.” The author brings the odyssey to a satisfactory conclusion with one last, pure affirmation of love. In this story set in an alternate Britain reminiscent of its 17th-century Civil War, Rebel distinguishes humans in the cast by their voices, smell, and dress.
Heartwarming fare for young pet owners who feel the love and loyalty going both ways. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9781536246797
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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