A strong balance of pulse-pounding perils and emotional depth.
Middle schoolers pull together when a disaster strands them in the Rocky Mountains.
Though he’s just 13, Radley Shaw is a seasoned and occasionally cynical content creator with an outdoors-themed YouTube channel, “Rad Wilderness.” He has the right influencer look, practiced patter, and enough success to have his own manager (Marcos) and tutor (Juliana), a Portuguese-speaking father-and-daughter team. Sadie Hahn, 12, learned serious outdoor skills from her late father, and even though the show is too commercial and inauthentic for her tastes, she tolerates “Rad Wilderness” because her autistic 9-year-old brother, Silas, idolizes Rad. Silas insists that Sadie enter Rad’s contest—he’s seeking someone between ages 12 to 16 to be his tour guide in the Colorado Rockies. Her win allows Silas to meet Rad at a trailhead for staged photo ops, which try Sadie’s patience. Rad and Sadie, who present white, join river guide Chuck for a short rafting excursion, but a natural disaster followed by a terrible accident leaves the young people stranded alone with just their wits and a few supplies. The dual narration helps readers empathize with both leads and ramps up the tension during three days of life-or-death wilderness survival. Debut author Brorsen tempers the adrenaline rush with sensitive explorations of Rad’s ADHD, food anxiety, and influencer pressures, and Sadie’s genetic predisposition to celiac disease, panic attacks, and guilt over her father’s death.
A strong balance of pulse-pounding perils and emotional depth. (recipe, survival essentials list, discussion questions) (Adventure. 8-12)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9798217031597
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
PERSPECTIVES
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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