THE SINISTER SECRETS OF SINGE

Robots and humans interact in this steampunk adventure.

Eleven-year-old Noah has only known nighttime construction noises in his house, as new rooms are erratically built by an unknown creature. But when Noah wakes up to silence one day, his caretaker, humanoid robot Elijah, who is the only friend he’s ever known, refuses to answer his questions. Noah’s mother also won’t tell him anything and goes to work as usual at the robot factory in town, leaving Noah a list of contraptions to fix—something he, like his absent father, has a gift for. As the story unfolds, Noah learns secrets about what creature is hammering each night and why his father is gone. Accompanied by Elijah, Noah sets off to find his father and eventually comes face to face with incredible monster robots. The story’s promising beginning introduces readers to a compelling world of retrofuturism full of noise, steam, and whirring gears. But as the story continues, it doesn’t maintain this momentum. The initially impressive descriptions of the mechanics of the robots are overused, taking chunks out of what could be a terribly imaginative plot. While a few succinct observations about the morality of relying on the perfection of machines over the imperfection of humans are worthwhile, overall, the story is lacking in heft. Atmospheric black-and-white illustrations add a bit of whimsy. Noah reads White; the supporting cast is diverse in skin tone.

An impressively descriptive story hampered by thin substance.