Charles Santoso

Sep 3, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | Katherine Applegate |Charles Santoso

A meditation on art and family, rich in language and feeling. In a sweet, tender exchange, an aging English puppeteer passes his vision on to a young kindred soul. In a nod to Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, the child-sized puppet old Silvester assembles one day from mismatched parts magically comes to life. He learns to talk, requesting “jam!”—and with loving care and assistance is able to walk well enough to go on excursions to the park.

Aug 30, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | Katherine Applegate |Charles Santoso |Natalie Babbitt

Tweens and an otherworldly robot may be a small town’s only defense against a planet-destroying alien in Friday’s debut middle-grade novel. A bizarre purple glowing object flying through the dense woods near her Oregon home unnerves 11-year-old Mattie James. She’s reluctant to call it a UFO, or to even mention aliens, but she’s still eager to know what’s out there. Surely, her best friend, Nova Diaz, and the new kid in school, Parker Wu (who has a drone), can help her find out.

Aug 29, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | Frances Hardinge |Emily Gravett |Katherine Applegate |Charles Santoso

A deftly told, bittersweet story of loved ones lost and remembered, tinged with hope and courage. What happens when an unlikely hero must transport the Dead to their final destination? Fourteen-year-old Milo’s not cut out to work with dead people, or so his father is quick to tell him. Though his dad is the Ferryman, entrusted with taking the newly deceased by ship from their island, Merlank, to the Island of the Broken Towers, where they can move on, Milo lacks the right disposition.

Mar 26, 2024 | kirkusreviews.com | George O'Connor |Ben Whitehouse |Katherine Rundell |Charles Santoso

A rainbow bridge to a fresh set of mythological places and faces. Kicking off a new theogony, the author of The Olympians series begins with the origins of the Nine Worlds according to Norse myth, and an introduction to the Aesir’s enigmatic chieftain.

Jan 18, 2024 | taralazar.com | Caron Levis |Charles Santoso |Ida Always |Tara Lazar

by Caron LevisSometimes I hide from inspiration. Usually there’s nothing that makes me more present and joyful than collecting fresh drops of ideas. Tinkering with ideas—and working on the ones that trumpet, squawk, neigh, yawn, or cry the loudest—is what grounds and propels me through life. However, at times when mucky emotions overwhelm me, inspiration oddly feels exhausting, and I tend to stick my head in the sand. Once I hid so long, it seemed like my ideas had given up waiting and dried up.