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THE BOY WITH 17 SENSES

Name: THE BOY WITH 17 SENSES
Author: Sheila Grau
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2119-9

by Sheila Grau ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016

A fractured fairy tale that splinters on impact.

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Twelve-year-old Jaq is willing to do anything to save his family’s home; he’ll even travel to another world.

Everyone on the planet Yipsmix has synesthesia. They can see sounds, taste words, and feel colors. In fact, Jaq, pale-skinned with a shock of brown hair, has 17 different senses. Unfortunately, all of the senses in the world will not help his family’s failing farm. Desperate, Jaq agrees to part with his beloved pet freasel in exchange for a magical key. Initially it seems he has been scammed, but further study yields a map to a portal to another world. Jaq travels to Earth with wipper Bonip, a sort of wacky fluff ball, where he finds both the means to save his family and others who need his help. This retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk” tries hard but fails on many fronts. Forced whimsy, a too-complicated plot, and a tendency toward narrative preachiness are only a few of this story’s problems. Jaq’s mother is borderline abusive, throwing plates at his head, while Jaq’s bitter and lazy grandfather is more horrible than amusing. The addition of synesthesia feels like another forced element, and those 17 senses add little to the already struggling story.

A fractured fairy tale that splinters on impact. (Fantasy. 9-12)

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4197-2119-9

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Amulet/Abrams

Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

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GORILLA TACTICS
by Sheila Grau ; illustrated by Joe Sutphin

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DR. CRITCHLORE'S SCHOOL FOR MINIONS
by Sheila Grau ; illustrated by Joe Sutphin

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THE LION OF LARK-HAYES MANOR

by Aubrey Hartman ; illustrated by Christopher Cyr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

A pleasing premise for book lovers.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

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At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.

Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the first week in August when this takes place to "the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning") help to justify the extravagant early assertion that had the secret about to be revealed been known at the time of the action, the very earth "would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin." (Fantasy. 9-11)