An energetic and winning SF tale of a brilliant young New Yorker.
Segarra-Orenstein presents an illustrated middle-grade novel about a young genius on an amazing extra-dimensional adventure.
As the story opens, ninth grader Marcella Josefina “Marz” Sidrais making her way to her home in Brooklyn. In some ways, Marz is an average kid who enjoys stylish hair clips and has homework that needs doing, but in others, she’s exceptional: a creative soul and inventor who transforms found objects into “something unique.” In this pursuit, she’s encouraged by Carmen, the owner of her favorite Fishbowl Café: “Never underestimate your ability to make big changes in the world,” she tells the teen. One of those potential tools for change is in Marcella’s attic at home (her “creative hub,” known as the Marzelab); it’s an invention she calls the Realm Portal (RP), which is the size of a Rubik’s Cube and is made from meteorite residue and rare earth metals she scrounged from cell phones. She’s hoping to use the RP as a gateway to other dimensions, so she’s intrigued when the device unexpectedly turns on and starts beeping. Later, “a glowing whirlpool” appears, putting her in contact with strange beings who claim to be from Proxima Centauri; she soon wonders if they’re connected with a story Carmen tells her about her own girlhood, when she and Marz’s grandmother encountered a glowing extraterrestrial “angel” at the Arecibo Observatory in their native Puerto Rico; the being gave them each a special pendant. Marz is now in possession of her grandmother’s pendant, and it’s central to the ensuing adventure, which brings her all the way to another planet to meet the same beings who contacted her grandmother all those years ago.
In buoyant prose and lively dialogue (assisted by Ram’s occasional appealing grayscale illustrations), Segarra-Orenstein crafts a peppy adventure story with an appealing and well-developed central character. Marz is a relatable protagonist who’s extremely capable but also fallible. The author comfortably situates her as part of a large extended family who live in homes with warm kitchens, full of fragrant dishes from Puerto Rico. At the heart of the story is the unconditional love of her family members, portrayed in terms that are glowing but also realistic; Marz is very much aware of how strict her mother can be, for instance, while her father can be relied upon to give her no-nonsense advice (“Popularity doesn’t solve your issues,” he tells her at one point; “it postpones them”). Likewise, Marz’s diverse friends love her and treat her as a peer. The book has playful references to the many amazing inventions Marz has cobbled together from random repurposed elements, in part inspired by the achievements of her role model: Erika Douglas, the founder of a company called Habitable Extraterrestrial Research and Analysis. Segarra-Orenstein smoothly and naturally embeds the adventure of Proxima Centauri into a long-standing secret in Marz’s family, which, in turn, affectingly connects her with her late grandparent. Quirky, referential humor is sprinkled throughout the book, as when Marz, while traveling though dimensions, thinks “I’m certainly not in Brooklyn anymore!”
An energetic and winning SF tale of a brilliant young New Yorker.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9798987935217
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Hasta En La Luna
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
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