“Channeled by a talented, millennial author, these age-old conundrums of good and evil, fate and free will feel fresh and urgent.” from the paradox of vertical flight
to sustainability, but she is also sensitive to the human urge to make life a tad easier: In terms of sheer effort, the horseless buggy looked pretty good compared to the horse, coal to splitting wood. By the time she gets to wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and wave energy, they seem positively industrial compared to the small-scale, local productions on display—and utterly feasible. The book is peppered with exotic photographs, as well as quick-shooting boxed items, to catch the attention of busy eyes. A smart, welcoming introduction to alternative fuels, one that puts the greater world in readers’ hands. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
WILD BORN
Mull, Brandon Scholastic (208 pp.) $12.99 | $12.99 e-book | Sep. 10, 2013 978-0-545-52243-4 978-0-545-52255-7 e-book Series: Spirit Animals, 1 The appearance of the Four Fallen Great Beasts in Erdas signals the re-emergence of an evil power long forgotten. In the tradition of Erdas, four 11-yearolds are given Nectar, a substance designed to help them call their spirit animals. Conor, an indentured servant, calls Briggan the wolf. Uraza the leopard answers the call of the young warrior, Abeke. Jhi the panda comes to Meilin, the daughter of a Zhongese general. Rollan, a poor street urchin, calls Essix the falcon. With the assistance of the Greencloaks, a powerful but secretive order, the four must learn to bond with their spirit animals, drawing strength and wisdom from their gifts. Their mission is to retrieve the talismans from the other Great Beasts before the Devourer can regain power and destroy the world. Constructed in the tradition of The 39 Clues, this fast-paced new series will be penned by various well-known authors. Unfortunately, flat characters and a predictable plot are evidence that this first installment lacks Mull’s usual creativity and humor. A companion website promising a multimedia experience invites readers to be paired with their own spirit animals. Should satisfy readers hungry for a new fantasy series. (Fantasy. 8-12)
THE KITE THAT BRIDGED TWO NATIONS Homan Walsh and the First Niagara Suspension Bridge
ONeill, Alexis Illus. by Widener, Terry Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills (40 pp.) $16.95 | Sep. 1, 2013 978-1-59078-938-4
A young kite enthusiast lends his skill to an engineering feat—the construction of the first suspension bridge downstream from Niagara Falls. 102
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O’Neill’s narrator (16-year-old Homan Walsh in 1847, from the author’s note) recounts in free verse his entry in the kiteflying contest posed by the bridge’s engineer. The winner must anchor a line 240 feet across an 800-foot chasm between the United States and Canada above Whirlpool Rapids. Though his father is unimpressed by his passion for kite-flying, for the boy: “This is what I studied— / reading the wind, / calculating lift, / gauging line length....” He launches his carefully made kite from the Canadian side, knowing how the winds would work. As the wind drops at midnight, there’s “suddenly, a sag, a jerk. / The heavy line went slack! / It snapped on ice below.” The young hero waits (“Kind folks in Elgin sheltered me”) for ice to clear so he can return home to mend his rescued, broken kite for a second, successful attempt. Widener’s acrylic paintings capture the determination of the boy, the frozen, deeply chilly landscape, and the danger and power of the falls. In a later scene, the completed bridge imposes order on the wild waters below. Backmatter includes a timeline, source list and more complete story of what is actually known or surmised for the story’s telling. Memorable and dramatic. (Fiction. 7-11)
THE PARADOX OF VERTICAL FLIGHT
Ostrovski, Emil Greenwillow/HarperCollins (272 pp.) $17.99 | $9.99 e-book | Sep. 24, 2013 978-0-06-223852-8 978-0-06-223854-2 e-book
Alone and angst-ridden in his boarding school dorm on his 18th birthday, Jack is contemplating suicide by painkiller when he learns his ex-girlfriend is
giving birth. Though she listed the father as “unknown,” Jess, 20, invites Jack to meet his son before relinquishing him to adoptive parents. Overwhelmed, Jack scoops the baby up and runs, naming him Socrates. Vehicularly challenged, Jack persuades his best friend to drive them. Stopping for Jess, they embark on an eccentric road trip from Bangor, Maine, to upstate New York. Along the way—when not shopping for formula, changing diapers, arguing over trivia with Tommy and bickering with Jess—Jack conducts a funny, heartfelt imaginary dialogue on the meaning of life with little Socrates. These amiable meanderings through ancient Greek philosophy are the novel’s heart and soul. Channeled by a talented, millennial author, these age-old conundrums of good and evil, fate and free will feel fresh and urgent. Readers seeking to decode the generational genome will find plenty to ponder here. Bromance trumps romance; Jess is more scold than soul mate. Socrates is a remarkably obliging newborn. (Margaret Bechard’s Hanging on to Max, 2001, and Angela Johnson’s First Part Last, 2003, present far more realistic views of teen fatherhood.) Inconsistent temporal markers (dates aren’t specified) are briefly distracting, but Jack’s quest for meaning holds reader attention all the way. (Fiction. 14 & up)
kirkus.com
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