nonfiction

“Carroll introduces flaws at the right
moments, making his giant blue man feel more real
than many other protagonists in teen novels today.”
from stronger
Known as the Queen of Green, Justine turns her attention
here to exhaust fumes, wishing that what poured out of cars
always looked filthy so more people would notice it. She gets
the idea to arrange walking school buses: Groups of children
shepherded to school en masse. Parent chaperones would collect
children at their homes, follow a regular route each day and
deliver them safely—without air pollution—to school, all on foot.
Justine canvases her neighborhood looking for help from mostly
unwilling adults, all of whom discouragingly regard her as a bit
strange. The same cast of characters from the last outing reappear—bullying
Blatzo and best friends Michael and Safdar—but,
if anything, are even less well developed than in their previous
cardboard appearances. Mild humor will elicit some chuckles, as
when Justine encourages the janitor, frustrated because girls are
kissing the mirrors with lipstick, to convince them that he cleans
restrooms with water from the toilets. Playful black-and-white
illustrations accompany the text. Notes for students provide
advice on easy environmentally friendly activities.
Amusing, with a mild bathroom humor flavor (including
a fart noise machine) that’s sure to appeal, the book’s environmental
message makes it a somewhat useful purchase.
(Fiction. 6-9)
LIES BENEATH
Brown, Anne Greenwood
Delacorte (320 pp.)
$17.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $20.99
Jun. 12, 2012
978-0-385-74201-6
978-0-375-98908-7 e-book
978-0-375-99036-6 PLB
Riding the wave of mermaid paranormalia
is a young merman with a mission.
For 18-year-old Calder White, family
life is a little different. He spends part of his year living in Lake
Superior with his three sisters, plotting revenge on Jason Hancock,
the son of the man the merpeople hold responsible for
killing their mother. Calder plans to lure Jason into the water by
using Jason’s daughters Lily and Sophie, but he does not count
on falling in love with Lily nor on her learning of his true nature.
When he is about to spring the trap, Calder finds himself out
of his depth and drowning. Narrator Calder isn’t particularly
self-reflective, which ably conveys his emotional numbness but
also makes him rather dull. There’s little that’s engaging about
Brown’s treatment of the mermaid mythology, the characters
or the plot, making it an underwater retread of stories about
sparkly creatures and dangerous love. Initially borrowing from
Native American tales, Brown dumps the legends quickly into
the inky depths. Astute readers will see the entire plot arc from
the first few pages, which makes Calder and Lily’s romance feel
forced from the beginning.
About as exciting as a handful of chum. (Paranormal
romance. 12 & up)
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
Bùi, Tak
Illus. by Bùi, Tak
Tundra (48 pp.)
$9.95 paperback | May 8, 2012
978-1-77049-279-0
In a challenging workout for Where’s
Waldo fans a Canadian cartoonist offers
82 teeming scenes in pairs that are identical
only at first glance.
Presented side by side on tall, floppy pages bound at the top,
each pair of paintings has 20 small differences for sharp-eyed
viewers to identify. They feature dozens of, usually, tiny rabbits
in human dress swarming through city or country settings in
various seasons. These differences range from an airport worker’s
warning sign here that is blank there and changing numbers
in an arithmetic problem on a chalkboard in front of a “school”
of marine creatures to a swarm of diminutive Santas constructing
a “Trojan Rudolph” with a nose that’s glowing in only one
view. Mercifully, Bùi describes all the changes in every pair at
the end. Smaller hands will have difficulty wrestling with the
ungainly format, but the figures and action are depicted with
fine-lined exactitude, and there’s plenty of stage business and
visual humor to keep even browsers uninterested in playing the
intended game amused.
Too big for back-seat entertainment or to tuck into a
parental backpack as a portable means of distraction—but
rewarding to pore over in roomier situations. (Picture book. 6-9)
THE VOYAGE OF
THE SEA WOLF
Bunting, Eve
Sleeping Bear Press (192 pp.)
$15.95 | paper $8.95 | May 1, 2012
978-1-58536-789-4
978-1-58536-790-0 paperback
Ahoy ye mateys! Clamber on board
the Sea Wolf for a salty adventure.
As the first in Bunting’s new series
ended, 15-year-old Catherine, The Pirate
Captain’s Daughter (2011), had been marooned on a desolate
island with William, cabin boy and love of her young life, and the
situation was looking grim. They’re rather fortuitously rescued
by the Sea Wolf, captained by superstitious red-haired pirate
Medb, a spirited and domineering woman. Medb is immediately
smitten with William and determines to claim him as her
own, whether or not the young lovers agree. Sebastian, the captain’s
wily assistant, comes to Catherine’s aid, but the situation
is still fraught with peril as they sail off toward a confrontation
with a treasure ship. Like the first in the series, this effort is
plot driven, but there’s enough lusty adventure to sustain those
pirate fans who may find Catherine’s introspective yearning for
William an unnecessary distraction from swashbuckling. It’s a
swift read with a strong female protagonist, a bit of romance
and plenty of action. The grittiness of the situation is both
informative and a bit disgusting: The pirates, for example, have
a handy restroom—they haul themselves out over the sea in a
net that features a conveniently placed hole. Aye, tis true.
“Listen now, ye belly-whackers,” pirate fans are sure to
savor this seafaring adventure and crave another in the
series. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
LAUGH WITH THE MOON
Burg, Shana
Delacorte (256 pp.)
$16.99 | $10.99 e-book | PLB $19.99
Jun. 12, 2012
978-0-385-73471-4
978-0-375-98568-3 e-book
978-0-385-90469-8 PLB
Melding the colors of heartache and
loss with painterly strokes, Burg creates a
vivid work of art about a girl grieving for
her recently deceased mother against a Third World backdrop.
Clare is not speaking to her father. She has vowed never to
speak to him again. Which could be tough, since the pair just
touched down in Malawi. There, Clare finds herself struck by
the contrast between American wealth and the relatively barebones
existence of her new friends. Drowning in mourning
and enraged at the emptiness of grief, Clare is a hurricane of
early-adolescent emotions. Her anger toward her father crackles
like lightning in the treetops. She finds purpose, though, in
teaching English to the younger children, which leads her out
of grief. Burg’s imagery shimmers. “The girl talks to her mother
in a language that sounds like fireworks, full of bursts and pops.
She holds her hand over her mouth giggling.... She probably has
so many minutes with her mother, she can’t even count them.”
Her realization of the setting and appreciation for the Malawian
people are so successful that they compensate for Clare’s
wallowing, which sometimes feels contrived.
Ultimately, Burg’s lyrical prose will make readers think
about the common ground among peoples, despite inevitable
disparities. (Fiction. 9-12)
BLACK DAWN
Caine, Rachel
New American Library (384 pp.)
$17.99 | May 1, 2012
978-0-451-23671-5
Series: Morganville Vampires, 12
The 12th episode in the Morganville
Vampires series finds the town besieged
by the terrifying draug, water beings that
feed on vampires.
Throughout their history, the vampires
have never defeated the draug. Human Claire, the series
heroine, her boyfriend Shane and her friends, Eve and her
vampire fiancé Michael, will find new ways to fight, but not
without cheating death. All the while the town’s leader Amelie
lies dying from a draug bite. Indeed, it looks as though Morganville
has had it. Although readers know that Caine won’t allow
that to happen, she works the tension beautifully, keeping the
cliffhangers coming. She delves into Shane’s character most
deeply in this installment, after he’s captured by the draug. The
eccentric vampire Myrnin, Claire’s scientist boss, stands out as
the book’s most interesting and entertaining character, providing
both comic relief and some nice plot turns. The romance
scenes in the novel don’t rise above most other paranormal
romances, and the writing relies on frequent use of italics, but
the author’s imagination easily tops the average, keeping the
book constantly interesting. Her suspense scenes, the heart of
this series, crackle with vitality and occur frequently enough to
induce white knuckles. The plot includes enough explication
that new readers can orient themselves. This series continues
to provide terrific action and great entertainment.
Plenty of fun. (Paranormal suspense. 12 & up)
STRONGER
A Super Human Crash
Carroll, Michael
Philomel (384 pp.)
$16.99 | Jun. 1, 2012
978-0-399-25761-2
Series: Super Human, 3
The third in the Super Human series
continues to deliver a high-octane blend
of concept and action.
Gethin Rao never expected a Sunday
choir performance to drastically alter his life. In a brilliant
flash, he changes into a 12-year-old bright-blue giant whose skin
is nearly bulletproof and who can crush cars and helicopters
with his bare hands. Gethin becomes Brawn and collaborates
with others who have been given extraordinary abilities, but he
grows to distrust their leader. When faced with a pivotal choice,
Brawn follows his conscience, betraying the superheroes and
branding himself an outlaw. Examining the lifespan of a single
superhuman and tracing his passage from idealist to relativist,
Carroll creates an utterly compelling narrative that ends all too
soon. Experiencing an authentic emotional journey over years
spent running and suffering, Brawn touches all the chords. Carroll
introduces flaws at the right moments, making his giant
blue man feel more real than many other protagonists in teen
novels today. The moral absolutism of the first in the series
(Super Human, 2010) makes a momentary reappearance, but in
the most fitting of ways.
Readers beguiled with the Super Human trilogy can
plunge immediately into the Quantum Prophecy trilogy, to
which this has been a prequel. They will be glad they don’t
have to wait. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
846 | 15 april 2012 | children’s & teen | kirkusreviews.com |
| kirkusreviews.com | children’s & teen | 15 april 2012 | 847