Lisle wastes an appealing cast in this clumsy, contrived tale of a confused but resolute child who tracks down and reunites her forcibly separated parents—while also reuniting a mother with a child thought dead, stopping a war, rescuing captured wolves, and more. Copper Beech, 10, has always believed herself abandoned, until suddenly dispatched to the far-off Marble Mountains, where she finds herself caught between her father’s extended family of woodworkers, living inside a huge tree, and cave-dwelling Rockers, hostile relatives on her mother’s side who insist that they’ve been cheated out of a shipment of gold. Despite the author’s overuse of the “evasive answer” trick, Copper soon discovers that her father is hiding in an upper story of the tree, and her mother has magically sealed herself inside the mountain to escape a captor/suitor. Amid a welter of good hunches, telegraphed revelations, cliffhangers both figurative and literal, and convenient magic, Copper takes care of business—all without much fuss, danger, or suspense. Like the misshapen knitting that she compulsively produces, this never weaves itself into a finished whole, despite some enjoyable, even ingenious, elements. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-399-24211-2
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2004
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
In this prequel to Newbery Award–winning The Crossover (2014), Alexander revisits previous themes and formats while exploring new ones.
For Charlie Bell, the future father of The Crossover’s Jordan and Josh, his father’s death alters his relationship with his mother and causes him to avoid what reminds him of his dad. At first, he’s just withdrawn, but after he steals from a neighbor, his mother packs a reluctant Charlie off to his grandparents near Washington, D.C., for the summer. His grandfather works part-time at a Boys and Girls Club where his cousin Roxie is a star basketball player. Despite his protests, she draws him into the game. His time with his grandparents deepens Charlie’s understanding of his father, and he begins to heal. “I feel / a little more normal, / like maybe he’s still here, / … in a / as long as I remember him / he’s still right here / in my heart / kind of way.” Once again, Alexander has given readers an African-American protagonist to cheer. He is surrounded by a strong supporting cast, especially two brilliant female characters, his friend CJ and his cousin Roxie, as well as his feisty and wise granddaddy. Music and cultural references from the late 1980s add authenticity. The novel in verse is enhanced by Anyabwile’s art, which reinforces Charlie’s love for comics.
An eminently satisfying story of family, recovery, and growing into manhood. (Historical verse fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-86813-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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SEEN & HEARD
A San Diego preteen learns that she’s an elf, with a place in magic school if she moves to the elves’ hidden realm.
Having felt like an outsider since a knock on the head at age 5 left her able to read minds, Sophie is thrilled when hunky teen stranger Fitz convinces her that she’s not human at all and transports her to the land of Lumenaria, where the ageless elves live. Taken in by a loving couple who run a sanctuary for extinct and mythical animals, Sophie quickly gathers friends and rivals at Foxfire, a distinctly Hogwarts-style school. She also uncovers both clues to her mysterious origins and hints that a rash of strangely hard-to-quench wildfires back on Earth are signs of some dark scheme at work. Though Messenger introduces several characters with inner conflicts and ambiguous agendas, Sophie herself is more simply drawn as a smart, radiant newcomer who unwillingly becomes the center of attention while developing what turn out to be uncommonly powerful magical abilities—reminiscent of the younger Harry Potter, though lacking that streak of mischievousness that rescues Harry from seeming a little too perfect. The author puts her through a kidnapping and several close brushes with death before leaving her poised, amid hints of a higher destiny and still-anonymous enemies, for sequels.
Wholesome shading to bland, but well-stocked with exotic creatures and locales, plus an agreeable cast headed by a child who, while overly fond of screaming, rises to every challenge. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4593-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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