A strong, suspenseful read about navigating friendship that includes a touch of the extraterrestrial.
A suspenseful epistolary novel about two new friends who find some extraordinary rocks.
On the last day of their miserable stay at Camp Dilloway, two young campers escape Campfire Night and connect after they find two unusual glowing rocks. Tripti Kapoor, an 11-year-old Indian American girl from Massachusetts, and Sam Cohen, a sixth grade Jewish boy from California, take the rocks home, and their long-distance friendship begins. They call the rocks Opal and Jasper, names taken from their favorite book series, Dragon Gems. Soon, Tripti and Sam notice unusual things about their rocks—they move around, become warm, and even leave coded messages. Communication between the two kids occurs through handwritten letters, emails, video chats, and instant messages. Mixed in are excerpts from the Dragon Gems books, MeTube video transcripts, and journal entries by Sanford P. Dilloway III, an eccentric scientist and the camp’s owner. The multiple channels of communication feel current and effectively propel the action, and the scientific information about comets and geology is engaging. As the rocks become more sentient, things become more urgent and dangerous. Themes of estrangement and forgiveness quietly run alongside the excitement of the mystery surrounding Opal and Jasper. Tripti and Sam’s friendship authentically traverses the tough and tender waters of middle school, and their friendship proves to be powerful.
A strong, suspenseful read about navigating friendship that includes a touch of the extraterrestrial. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2023
ISBN: 9781499814637
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Yellow Jacket
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Contagiously goofy and fun.
Area 51 gets its first new resident in 5 years—and a new mystery.
When her grandma moves into a kid-free retirement home, 12-year-old orphan Priya “Sky” Patel-Baum and Spike, her pet hedgehog, relocate to Area 51 to live with Sky’s eccentric Uncle Anish. At 51, humans and Break Throughs (government-speak for aliens) live together off-grid in harmony. Unfortunately, several Zdstrammars (one of many Break Through species) mysteriously disappear, disrupting the base’s harmony and contributing to feelings of suspicion. Despite being deputy head of the Federal Bureau of Alien Investigations, Uncle Anish becomes a prime suspect. Can Sky and Elvis, her alien classmate, prove Uncle Anish’s innocence and find the missing Zdstrammars before it’s too late? YA author Buxbaum’s middle-grade debut is a rip-roaring series opener complete with over-the-top characters and jokes galore. Naidu’s black-and-white cartoon illustrations extend the comedy with ongoing commentary that smartly interacts with the prose. The cast of Break Through species—like Audiotooters, Galzorian, and Sanitizoria—have hilariously creative on-the-nose names with illustrations to match. Sky is coded biracial, with a White dad and Indian mom. Aliens appear in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; Elvis shape-shifts but looks like a brown-skinned boy to Sky. Though the main mystery is neatly wrapped up, the cliffhanger ending promises more laughs.
Contagiously goofy and fun. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-42946-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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