Penelope March Is Melting

October 1, 2017
An avid reader becomes a "plucky heroine" in real life. When the iceberg her village is built on begins to melt, it's up to sixth-grader Penelope March to rescue the magic shard that keeps Glacier Cove afloat. In chain-saw-wielding neighbor Ore9n Buzzardstock's creepy mansion, an ice-sculpture submarine comes to life to carry Penelope, her little brother, Miles, and a well-trained army of penguins to the volcanic lair of shape-shifting Makara Nyx, a giant sea monster who's stolen the shard in her never-ending quest to destroy all life and return the sea to its "natural order." First-time novelist Ruby has stuffed his adventure with delicious details: runny-nosed children wake up with "boogersicles," and popping ice bubbles make a "Bergie Seltzer" (a true phenomenon). But the result is a freezer full of tasty worldbuilding and not enough nutritious plot or character development. Buzzardstock's "dream cookies" allow the children to swim in crushing ocean depths and walk through fire. The human characters have "pasty" white skin. Like fantasy writers before him, the author pits the light against the dark, but he fails to provide a convincing climax. "Then, a strange thing happened," he says limply, leaving room for a sequel.Like the turnips that serve as daily bread in Glacier Cove, this is hard to swallow. (Fantasy. 9-12)

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October 15, 2017
Grades 4-7 Imagine living on an iceberg floating in the middle of the ocean, sleeping in a hammock, and surviving on, well . . . mostly, turnips. Glacier Cove is the only home bookish tween Penelope March has ever known, but everything starts to change when she meets the strange, elderly ice sculptor Ore9n Buzzardstock (the nine is silent), who shares with Penelope special cookies that allow their consumers to see the past or future. Meanwhile, a crisis looms and then arrives at Glacier Cove with alarming speed. Shape-shifter Makara Nyx is melting Glacier Cove and it's up to Penelope to stop it, with the help of her brother, Miles, a bunch of adventurous penguins, and the school oddball, Coral Wanamaker. First-novelist Ruby creates a unique floating world and an ancient mythology. Short chapters and fast-paced action scenes make this a good choice for reluctant readers as well as book-devourers like Penelope. A clever, female-led adventure about saving your home and finding yourself. Hand to fans of Chris Grabenstein and Natalie Lloyd.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)