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Slade, Arthur
8 Reviews
(3)
YA
Hunchback Assignments series.
This fourth volume has British spy Modo searching for his biological parents while the ill-intentioned Clockwork Guild does the same in hopes of harnessing the source of Modo's shape-shifting abilities. Fans are left to figure out some of Modo's origin story themselves, but with the return of favorite characters and a riveting final battle, this sci-fi/steampunk series wraps up strongly.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
(3)
YA
Hunchback Assignments series.
Modo's latest spy mission for the British Empire takes him to the Australian rainforest, where he must reconcile the rights of the natives with his beloved master's interests. This dilemma and others, including fellow spy Octavia's feelings about Modo's shapeshifting, create the character depth typical of this suspenseful sci-fi/steampunk series.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
(3)
YA
Hunchback Assignments series.
Shape-shifting Modo's second mission has him feigning a marriage to fellow agent Octavia. After a maritime mishap, he's first rescued by--then stuck aboard--a submarine operating as a (purportedly) egalitarian community. Modo must decide whom to trust with state secrets and with his deformities. The story line will keep readers guessing while the characters keep them emotionally engaged.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
(3)
YA
"We're plugged into the universe," Newton Starker's late mother told him--and she didn't mean it metaphorically, as every deceased Starker family member on record (including her) died from a lightning strike. This imaginative survival story injects quirky asides--recipes, survival tips, character sketches, etc.--into its playful account of fourteen-year-old Newton's stint at an unusual boarding school, where he acquires both friends and courage.
Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann
(3)
YA
Hunchback Assignments series.
Modo, a boy with a shape-shifting face, is raised in seclusion in alternate-Victorian London to be an agent for calculating Mr. Socrates. Thrust into a treacherous situation about which he knows nothing, Modo finds himself and agent Octavia Milkweed responsible for the lives of helpless children. Felicitous turns of phrase and lots of heart amidst cold-blooded exploits make this a page-turner.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
(2)
YA
After his older brother dies in combat, Edward, a sixteen-year-old Saskatchewan farm boy, lies about his age and enlists. He sees action in Palestine; it's here that the horrors of the Great War are most graphically described. Slade puts an original spin on the experience of a young man going to war.
Reviewer: Sarah Ellis
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2006
(2)
4-6
When Abram Harsich comes to Robert's drought-stricken town with his Mirror of All Things and grand plans for a rain machine, the mesmerized residents forget their troubles--and their children who are mysteriously disappearing. Eleven-year-old Robert watches the ensuing events quietly and, with increasing unease, begins to question what is happening. His determination and heroic actions are the steady focus of the tale.
Reviewer: Barbara Scotto
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2003
(2)
YA
Percy's self-imposed role of high school anthropologist keeps him emotionally distant from other "hominids"--including his only friend, Elissa--and connected to his mourned anthropologist father. Cracks in Percy's façade appear early on, and we soon begin to wonder if Percy is a reliable narrator. Slade sets up and keeps up Percy's "anthropological vernacular" brilliantly; he is just as effective at gradually letting reality shine through.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2003
8 reviews
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