Though the combined might of the Republic and the Jedi seems to have pushed the Nihil into near extinction, the feared marauders nonetheless launch an attack on the renowned outpost Port Haileap.
Amid the chaos, the Nihil kidnap Avon Starros, a young inventor with a knack for getting into trouble. Avon awakens to find herself captive aboard a Nihil ship full of other abducted children. Sensing her young friend’s distress, Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh returns to Port Haileap with her new Padawan, Imri Cantaros, to uncover any clues that might lead them to Avon. Determined to free herself from the Nihil’s clutches, Avon concocts ways to send a message for help, using her smarts and keen sense of scientific skills to survive among her captors. At the Nihil’s home base, it all becomes clear: The Nihil plan to recruit the children into their ranks. Joined by Avon’s sassy (and heavily armed) droid, J-6, Vern and Imri travel to the planet of Dalna, where rumors of further Nihil-fueled disappearances suggest a path toward finding Avon—and perhaps more. Another intriguing tale from the High Republic era, Ireland’s latest Star Wars jaunt bristles with high-octane moments set against a thin backdrop of enticing space politics. What’s most engrossing here, as always, is the author’s compelling rendition of the headlining Jedi, Vern and Imri. The brisk pace makes this tale totally entertaining.
First rate. (Science fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-06800-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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The famous superhero returns to fight another villain with all the trademark wit and humor the series is known for.
Despite the title, Captain Underpants is bizarrely absent from most of this adventure. His school-age companions, George and Harold, maintain most of the spotlight. The creative chums fool around with time travel and several wacky inventions before coming upon the evil Turbo Toilet 2000, making its return for vengeance after sitting out a few of the previous books. When the good Captain shows up to save the day, he brings with him dynamic action and wordplay that meet the series’ standards. The Captain Underpants saga maintains its charm even into this, the 11th volume. The epic is filled to the brim with sight gags, toilet humor, flip-o-ramas and anarchic glee. Holding all this nonsense together is the author’s good-natured sense of harmless fun. The humor is never gross or over-the-top, just loud and innocuous. Adults may roll their eyes here and there, but youngsters will eat this up just as quickly as they devoured every other Underpants episode.
Dizzyingly silly. (Humor. 8-10)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-50490-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION
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Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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