“These illustrations, rich with implicit suggestions, prompt parents to offer explanations or (better yet!) solicit interpretations from their children.” from pomelo’s opposites
Several logical lapses strain credulity here as well—Why would the only two choices for selling the horse be by auction? Why would a physical blemish mean his purebred papers wouldn’t travel with him?—and the beginning seems to promise a much grander future for the equine protagonist than the simple tale that unfolds. Macadoo’s story will please very enthusiastic horse lovers—and only them. (Fiction. 8-12)
SHUTDOWN
Anastasiu, Heather St. Martin’s Griffin (320 pp.) $9.99 paper | Jul. 2, 2013 978-1-250-00301-0 Series: Glitch, 3 Fans of Anastasiu’s science-fiction trilogy who grew to love Zoe in all her telekinetic, girl-power glory, particularly in Override (2013), will likely feel cheated by the final installment. As the Chancellor closes in on the Rez, destroying their base and forcing the surviving resistance fighters to disband and seek refuge on the Surface, Zoe and Adrien’s only hope of outrunning the Regulators and reuniting their misfit band of freedom fighters is to work together. This should be the perfect setup for more of the steamy love scenes and high-stakes action that made the second book in the series such a great read, but fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. Still recovering from his lobotomy, Adrien has no memory of his love for Zoe and spends the better part of the novel recoiling from her touch. Not that this deters Zoe from trying and getting burned time and again. Though her telekinesis allows her to do some pretty cool stunt work when she needs to, Zoe spends far too much time bemoaning the loss of Adrien’s affections. When she isn’t pining about what could have been, she’s a physical wreck, dependent on Aiden to survive. With far too few glimpses of the self-confident freedom fighter readers have come to expect, Zoe goes from girl on fire to girl you want to set on fire. (Dystopian romance. 14 & up)
JOSHUA DREAD The Nameless Hero
Bacon, Lee Illus. by Dorman, Brandon Delacorte (304 pp.) $16.99 | $10.99 e-book | $19.99 PLB Sep. 24, 2013 978-0-385-74186-6 978-0-375-98722-9 e-book 978-0-375-99028-1 PLB Series: Joshua Dread, 1
When the substitute librarian tries to kill you on the last day of school, it doesn’t bode well for summer break. |
Seven months after narrowly defeating the supervillain Vex (Joshua Dread, 2012), Joshua Dread, secretly superpowered sixth grader (whose parents are the Dread Duo) is looking forward to a quiet summer with his normal best buddy, Milton, and their superstrong friend, Sophie. Their plans are thwarted when Joshua and Sophie receive invitations to Gyfted & Talented, a summer camp for superpowered teens. Unfortunately, Joshua’s parents (the Botanist and Dr. Dread), who have scaled back on villainy since finding out Sophie’s dad is their archnemesis, Captain Justice, think camp sounds like a good idea. Milton forges an invite, and the trio arrives to find it’s a training camp that intends to put together a group of superteens. When they go on their first mission with costumes and new supernames, it’s nearly a disaster. Joshua saves the day and becomes the darling of the media as the titular “Nameless Hero” (long story). When the secrets of Gyfted & Talented start to come out, things really get weird and dangerous. Bacon’s second features more superteen angst, celebrity problems and wry to goofy humor. The battle with the bad guy at the end is a bit of a letdown, but there’s no denying preteens will like this believable superworld that the obvious promise of the third installment will take them back to. A superpowered thumbs up. (Fantasy. 9-12)
POMELO’S OPPOSITES
Badescu, Ramona Illus. by Chaud, Benjamin Translated by Bedrick, Claudia Enchanted Lion Books (120 pp.) $15.95 | Jul. 15, 2013 978-1-59270-132-2 Pomelo, a diminutive, round-eyed, pink elephant child, discovers opposites in his garden world. Sometimes satisfyingly clear and sometimes comically questionable, all 58 of Pomelo’s opposites engage and delight. Are polka-dot mushrooms really the opposite of striped mushrooms? Many pairings challenge young readers with sophisticated humor, hinting at tacit desires and subtle feelings. In one spread, Pomelo appears with a lustrous head of blond hair with “dream” appearing beneath; on the accompanying page, a bald head sits atop his body with “reality” stamped below. Pomelo’s eyes look identically plaintive in both portraits—a perfect punch line. These illustrations, rich with implicit suggestions, prompt parents to offer explanations or (better yet!) solicit interpretations from their children. Some opposites, thankfully, are just downright silly. Watch Pomelo, whose body crosses the book’s gutter, open w-i-d-e for a round, red fruit (“in”) on the left page, and see his tail raised to expel an identically spherical poo (“out”) on the right. The book’s pace quickens as it advances, and more and more quirky, nonsensical, complicated pairings crop up. The speedy delivery of associations starts to feel like an exciting, wild ride. Images, words and meanings volley back and forth, bouncing from page to page and between this clever book and readers’ imaginations. Simple, sunny, silly illustrations brilliantly convey the
kirkus.com
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children ’s
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teen
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15 june 2013
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