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2 months ago | 
kirkusreviews.com | Chad Lucas |Dav Pilkey |Ben Whitehouse
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty.
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Dec 10, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Pam Withers |Ben Whitehouse |Kenneth Oppel
Narrow going plot-wise, but readers will come away better informed about environmental concerns. Even after a generation, the small Vancouver Island town of Tass is feeling the effects of the Big One, a sinkhole that swallowed an entire church full of people. No bodies were ever recovered. Sixteen-year-old Hudson has always delighted in exploring the area’s sprawling cave systems, but he’s recently become increasingly worried about the looming prospect of a repeat catastrophe.
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Dec 3, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Steve Watkins |Dav Pilkey |Ben Whitehouse
A haunting testament to the strength of the human spirit. In an effort to survive, two sisters in East Prussia navigate the war zone between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Having fled the bombing in Königsberg, 11-year-old Asta and 9-year-old Pieta are living with their mother on their grandparents’ farm during the final months of World War II when the Red Army attacks.
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Oct 19, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Ben Whitehouse
A thrilling, transportive historical adventure that offers hope and explores themes of found family. Thirteen-year-old Malcolm McKenzie’s wits are tested in this atmospheric mystery set in Scotland in 1902. The orphaned Malcolm lives in Mrs. McCardle’s Home for Children and is apprenticed to Jack Alexander, a clockmaker and inventor. Malcolm’s good friends with Jack’s son, Peter, and is a regular visitor to the Alexander home, where Peter’s aunt also lives.
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Aug 14, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Tom Phillips |Dav Pilkey |Elinor Teele |Ben Whitehouse
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty.
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Jul 29, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | James Patterson |Dav Pilkey |Elinor Teele |Ben Whitehouse
by James Patterson ; adapted by Adam Rau ; illustrated by Phillip Tajall ; color by Ray Kao ‧Lackluster visuals hamper this adaptation, though readers will still root for its kid detective protagonist. Ali Cross, the son of bestselling author Patterson’s Detective Alex Cross, finds new life in graphic novel format. Ali’s friend Gabe Qualls has disappeared; several days later, someone breaks into the Cross home.
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Jun 11, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Soman Chainani |Iacopo Bruno |Ben Whitehouse
Moving and perceptive: Hankies are a must. A sixth grader struggles with feelings and survival strategies after his single mom disappears. Hank is more or less used to being left to cope with caring for himself and his 3-year-old sister, Boo, for short stretches—but when their mother vanishes for a week, the power goes off, and the landlord serves an eviction notice, it’s crisis time. What’s the right thing to do?
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May 7, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Kelly Zhang |Soman Chainani |Iacopo Bruno |Ben Whitehouse
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied. Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school.
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May 4, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Beth Lincoln |Claire Powell |Elinor Teele |Ben Whitehouse
An amorally charming hero stars in this comically flamboyant heist mystery. The over-the-top Swift family might be able to reconcile with their cousins—if art theft doesn’t interfere. In this second series entry, as delightfully hilarious and witty as the first, Shenanigan Swift learns she has family in Paris—the Martinet cousins—with whom the English Swifts have long been feuding.
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Apr 20, 2024 | 
kirkusreviews.com | Sarah Tolcser |Antonio Javier Caparo |Dav Pilkey |Ben Whitehouse
Charming characters abound in this tale that’s thoughtfully grounded in ethics. Young teens face fearful challenges as they try to right the wrongs of others. Thirteen-year-old orphan Hattie Swift lives and works in the magical paradise of Hotel Majestica, a resort located in a sanctuary for fantastical creatures in the land of Ruava.
