Starred review from July 20, 2015
Oppel (The Boundless) enters Gaimanesque territory with his portrayal of Steve, an older brother struggling with anxiety and his family’s distress after his newborn brother, Theodore, is diagnosed with a rare congenital disorder. After a curious gray and white wasp from the hive above their house stings Steve, he develops the ability to speak to the hive’s queen, who promises to replace the ailing baby with a new one. Agreeing to the queen’s offer, Steve confronts a dangerous traveling knife sharpener, his parents’ concerns over his mental health, and strange phone calls from Mr. Nobody, a family legend turned real, it seems. As Theodore’s health deteriorates, Steve must decide what is best for his brother and what he will do to save him. Oppel infuses the natural world of the hive with chilling scenes of the queen’s heartlessness (“Before you know it, you’ll forget all about that crappy little broken baby”) while Klassen’s graphite drawings hauntingly depict the family’s stress (an early image, all angles and shadows, shows Steve’s parents standing solemnly over the baby’s crib), as well as increasing tension between Theodore’s complications and the wasps’ growing power. In exploring the boundaries of science, self-determination, and belief, Oppel uses a dark and disturbing lens to produce an unnerving psychological thriller. Ages 8–12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.
Starred review from September 1, 2015
Steve's baby brother came home from the hospital sick ( there was something wrong with his heart and his eyes and his brain ) and needing lots of care, so his parents don't pay much attention when Steve becomes afraid of the wasps in the backyard. He finds comfort in a recurring dream in which a compassionate voice offers to make everything better. All Steve must do is say yes to the offer, and his dream confidante will turn her promise of a healthy baby into reality. But as he learns more about the wasps that have built their nest outside baby Theo's room, this easy fix starts to look like too sinister a bargain. Oppel's (Airborn, rev. 7/04, and sequels; The Boundless, rev. 5/14) newest novel is a tight and focused story about the dangers of wishing things back to normal at any cost. The language is straightforward, rarely derailed by extraneous details, but the emotional resonance is deep, and Steve's precarious interactions with the honey-voiced queen make one's skin crawl. Klassen's full-page black-and-white drawingssimple, but with maximum impact, in shades of light, dark, and darkerastutely capture the magnitude of a child's imagination when he can rely only upon himself. sarah berman
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
Starred review from July 1, 2015
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Steven's parents just had a baby, Theo, but there's something wrong with him, and a pall of worry and sadness falls over his family. Meanwhile, a papery wasp's nest appears under the eaves of the house, just outside Theo's room, and Steven starts to dream of an angelic wasp who promises to fix whatever's wrong with the baby. At first, Steven is comforted by the wasp's soft assurances. But the wasp's plans grow more and more sinister, until they turn shockingly ugly: before you know it, you'll forget all about that crappy little broken baby. In Steven's restrained present-tense, first-person narrative, the wasp's dreadful plan slowly creeps into view, while Steven becomes increasingly determined to protect Theo, even though it would be easier for everyone if he weren't sick or broken. The brilliance of Oppel's storytelling lies in his ability to seamlessly integrate the wasp's cruel beliefs about worthiness into Steven's own fears about himself. Steven, who has a therapist to deal with his anxiety, believes he, too, is broken, and it isn't until he understands the grotesque lengths to which the wasps plan to go that he accepts Theoand himselffor all his imperfections. Klassen's eerie, atmospheric illustrations, all shadowy corners and half-concealed shapes, contribute to the spooky mood. With subtle, spine-chilling horror at its heart, this tale of triumph over monstersboth outside and inis outstanding. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Printz-winning, New York Times best-selling Oppel and Caldecott-winning Klassen are a match made in kid-lit heaven. Expect ample buzz.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
Starred review from August 1, 2015
Gr 5-7-Steve has always been a worrier, but since his brother was born he's become even more anxious. When Steve starts having dreams about otherworldly wasps, he takes comfort in their message that everything will be okay. But the more he learns about their plan to "fix" the baby's congenital condition, the more he's conflicted. The tension and unease grow as Steve begins to wonder if the wasps are real or imagined. The story comes to a climactic end that is cathartic and comforting. Set in a modern-day suburb, this quiet yet emotionally haunting book thoughtfully explores themes of safety, anxiety, and the beauty of the imperfect. Klassen's black-and-white graphite illustrations complement the sensitive and powerful narrative, written in first person from Steve's perspective. The images have a retro, printmaker feel and never reveal the entire picture, leaving much to the imagination-what is hidden in the unknown? Is it something bad or good? How can you know? The characters are believable and strongly developed, especially Steve, who deals with anxiety and possibly obsessive compulsive disorder. Scientific information on the life cycle, anatomy, and behaviors of wasps is woven in a way that furthers the plot. VERDICT This affecting middle grade psychological thriller is recommended as a first purchase for libraries.-Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from August 1, 2015
Steven must fight for his own life as well as for his baby brother's when he's offered a chance to exchange human life for something better. Steve has figured out strategies to cope with many of his anxieties and OCD behaviors, but this summer the pressure is on. Readers see through Steve's eyes his parents' fears for the new baby, whose congenital health issues are complicated and unusual. Readers may find parallels with Skellig in the sibling anxiety and the odd encounter with a winged creature-but here the stranger is part of something sinister indeed. "We've come to help," assures the winged, slightly ethereal being who offers a solution to Steven in a dream. "We come when people are scared or in trouble. We come when there's grief." Oppel deftly conveys the fear and dislocation that can overwhelm a family: there's the baby born with problems, the ways that affects the family, and Steve's own struggles to feel and be normal. Everything feels a bit skewed, conveying the experience of being in transition from the familiar to the threateningly unfamiliar. Klassen's several illustrations in graphite, with their linear formality and stillness and only mere glimpses of people, nicely express this sense of worry and tension. Steve's battle with the enemy is terrifying, moving from an ominous, baleful verbal conflict to a pitched, physical, life-threatening battle. Compelling and accessible. (Fantasy. 9-12)
COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.