A compact, high-IQ SF story that bundles some rewarding surprises into its middle-grade setting.
In Watts’ middle-grade SF novel, a series of strange incidents, including the arrival of a mysterious “archivist,” convinces a bright fifth grader that an otherworldly conspiracy is afoot.
In the mid-1990s, personal computers are making serious changes in classrooms, and something called the Internet is turning out to be a societal game-changer; such is the stimulating environment inhabited by inquisitive Graeme Pendlebury, a middle school student living outside Boston who’s maturing into a science-minded type and math whiz with an uncommon grasp of problem-solving and the “Big Picture.” Graeme is a genius and a prodigy, but even he is baffled when, during a field trip to the famous Computer Museum at MIT in Boston, Graeme receives an extraordinary bequest from unknown benefactors, a gift that could make him independently wealthy for the rest of his life (and thusly ease the pressure to excel at homework). At the same time, a mysterious man calling himself Ennis, who’s nonthreatening but just a little bit off-kilter, appears at Graeme’s school claiming to be an “archivist” and using various strange and unfamiliar diagnostic devices on students. Ennis seems to have the unquestioning approval of the suddenly docile, passive faculty. Graeme senses some kind of troubling scheme at work, possibly connected with his sudden fortune. But what could it be?
If Isaac Asimov had contributed to a science fiction version of the famous Goosebumps YA book series, the results might have looked a bit like this—and that is no small compliment. Although constrained to a middle-grade chapter-book length, the smart narrative avoids being condescending, with a likable and relatable young hero; genre readers may be reminded of the imperturbable, brainy Charles Wallace of A Wrinkle in Time, though Watts manages to get inside the head of his protagonist a bit more deeply, detailing Graeme’s occasional frustrations and his dawning interest in girls. Some middle-grade readers (apart from the Graeme types) might find the text to be wordy, too leisurely in the buildup, and parsimonious in dealing out shock-and-awe action (though a stirring sense of wonder is invoked when Graeme and his friend Piper begin to realize the incomprehensibly vast scale of the sinister conspiracy they face). As in the classic, original Star Trektelevision series, the cosmic challenge is met with chessboard-move strategies employing logic and good judgment (while keeping the more expensive, special effects–dependent elements conveniently offstage). As a key revelation is depicted: “It was right then that Graeme figured it out what he meant by Child Thinking and Adult Thinking. Child Thinking was just considering the number of pieces a jigsaw puzzle has when determining how hard it would be to put together. Adult Thinking was also taking into account what the picture was of and how hard it would be to tell where every piece belonged.” This is well-mannered, restrained, and satisfying SF for all ages that celebrates the intellect and does not concede to trendy cynicism or dystopian themes.
A compact, high-IQ SF story that bundles some rewarding surprises into its middle-grade setting.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2020
ISBN: 9781005273897
Page Count: -
Publisher: Smashwords
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This kid-friendly satire ably sets claws into a certain real-life franchise.
A trip to the Love Love Angel Kitty World theme park (“The Most Super Incredibly Happy Place on Earth!”) turns out to be an exercise in lowered expectations…to say the least.
When Uncle Murray wins a pair of free passes it seems at first like a dream come true—at least for Kitty, whose collection of Love Love Kitty merch ranges from branded underwear to a pink chainsaw. But the whole trip turns into a series of crises beginning with the (as it turns out) insuperable challenge of getting a cat onto an airplane, followed by the twin discoveries that the hotel room doesn’t come with a litter box and that the park doesn’t allow cats. Even kindhearted Uncle Murray finds his patience, not to say sanity, tested by extreme sticker shock in the park’s gift shop and repeated exposures to Kitty World’s literally nauseating theme song (notation included). He is not happy. Fortunately, the whole cloying enterprise being a fiendish plot to make people so sick of cats that they’ll pick poultry as favorite pets instead, the revelation of Kitty’s feline identity puts the all-chicken staff to flight and leaves the financial coffers plucked. Uncle Murray’s White, dumpy, middle-aged figure is virtually the only human one among an otherwise all-animal cast in Bruel’s big, rapidly sequenced, and properly comical cartoon panels.
This kid-friendly satire ably sets claws into a certain real-life franchise. (Graphic satire. 8-11)Pub Date: Dec. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-20808-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not the first time old Ben has paid our times a call, but it’s funny and free-spirited, with an informational load that...
Antics both instructive and embarrassing ensue after a mysterious package left on their doorstep brings a Founding Father into the lives of two modern children.
Summoned somehow by what looks for all the world like an old-time crystal radio set, Ben Franklin turns out to be an amiable sort. He is immediately taken in hand by 7-year-old Olive for a tour of modern wonders—early versions of which many, from electrical appliances in the kitchen to the Illinois town’s public library and fire department, he justly lays claim to inventing. Meanwhile big brother Nolan, 10, tags along, frantic to return him to his own era before either their divorced mom or snoopy classmate Tommy Tuttle sees him. Fleming, author of Ben Franklin’s Almanac (2003) (and also, not uncoincidentally considering the final scene of this outing, Our Eleanor, 2005), mixes history with humor as the great man dispenses aphorisms and reminiscences through diverse misadventures, all of which end well, before vanishing at last. Following a closing, sequel-cueing kicker (see above) she then separates facts from fancies in closing notes, with print and online leads to more of the former. To go with spot illustrations of the evidently all-white cast throughout the narrative, Fearing incorporates change-of-pace sets of sequential panels for Franklin’s biographical and scientific anecdotes. Final illustrations not seen.
It’s not the first time old Ben has paid our times a call, but it’s funny and free-spirited, with an informational load that adds flavor without weight. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93406-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade/Random
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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