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Shearer, Alex
5 Reviews
(2)
4-6
Funny, gruesome, and unpredictable, this novel details the crime-fighting partnership between Fergal and Charlotte, who collect unlabeled cans. The friends decide to open a few specimens, revealing alarming mysteries. Shearer builds suspense carefully, and the resolution falls well outside the paradigm of predictability. Recalling Roald Dahl, Shearer teeters on the brink between black humor and tastelessness, improbability and impossibility.
Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2008
(3)
4-6
In this tale of high-seas high jinks, motherless English twin brothers stow away on a ship on which their father works. The ways the boys avoid detection are entertaining; week three brings discovery and excitement when robbers take over the ship. Natch, the twins' derring-do helps save the day. While the story stretches believability, humor and a brisk pace will keep readers engaged.
Reviewer: Carolyn Shute
(4)
4-6
After being hit by a truck, Harry arrives at the Other Lands, a place of perpetual sunsets filled with dead souls waiting to make their next transition to the Great Blue Yonder. Returning to Earth one last time, Harry observes his grieving family and forgives his sister for their final argument. The intriguing premise offers both humor and genuinely moving moments, though the first-person narrative is wordy.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
(3)
4-6
Oddball weather merchants provide the focus for these two light comedic fantasies, illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches. The occasional Briticism (e.g., pounds for dollars, football for soccer) won't prevent readers from enjoying the foibles of a wind salesman with an out-of-control typhoon in his barn and three siblings whose botched sun dance produces a seemingly irreversible eclipse.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
(3)
4-6
Oddball weather merchants provide the focus for these two light comedic fantasies, illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches. The occasional Briticism (e.g., pounds for dollars, football for soccer) won't prevent readers from enjoying the foibles of a wind salesman with an out-of-control typhoon in his barn and three siblings whose botched sun dance produces a seemingly irreversible eclipse.
Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.
5 reviews
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