The 8th Continent

September 29, 2014
Like the Lane family's supersonic hovership, the Roost, which is carved from a giant sequoia, London's smart and humorous series launch hurtles along at a sometimes knuckle-whitening pace. Timid tech whiz Rick and fearless Evie accompany their father, George, a genius inventor and passionate environmentalist, to rescue a rare jungle bird threatened by toxic waste dumped by a corporation that plans to develop the land into the tacky "New Miami" resort. After international watchdog agency Winterpole, "dedicated to making sure that nothing ever changed," places George under house arrest for removing the bird, it's up to Rick and Evie to achieve his dream: transforming an expanse of garbage (based on the actual Great Pacific Garbage Patch) into a bucolic eighth continent. Adding to the comedy interwoven with London's ecological themes are several memorable characters, including Vesuvia Piffle, Condo Corp's plastic-worshipping young mastermind. Kids will especially enjoy George's outlandish robotic and vehicular inventionsâincluding 2-Tor, the siblings' giant mechanical crow teacherâin this fun yet thought-provoking story, which features an online tie-in game. Ages 8â12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Harvey Klinger.

August 1, 2014
An eco-conscious series of adventures begins, promising worldbuilding on a continental scale and an integrated website. When their brilliant, activist father is placed under house arrest by Winterpole, the international police agency, preteens Evie and Rick Lane take on the challenge of finding the missing half of a formula that will convert the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into an eighth continent where they will be free of Winterpole's regulations and where birds and animals can find sanctuary. At 10 and 11, Evie and Rick are opposites: Evie is always ready for action and looking for a loophole; studious, obedient Rick prefers his adventure in video games. But they share a dislike for bullying schoolmate Vesuvia Piffle, the "super-secret" CEO of the Condo Corp., who's determined to build a continent of her own where plastic will rule. The Lanes' quest for the formula, which takes them into the Winterpole headquarters near their Swiss home, far north to a seastead in the Arctic Ocean, and down to ocean depths, is told in third person from their alternating points of view. Two sequels are promised for 2015. Fast-paced action, cool inventions and remarkable robots combine for an auspicious opener. (Adventure. 8-12)

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August 1, 2014

Gr 4-7-In this first volume of a projected series, grade school students Rick and Evie Lane are on a quest to transform the Pacific Garbage Patch into the world's eighth continent. Their father, George, once invented a formula that would turn this mass of floating plastic into fertile land, but now he only has half of the recipe. With the help of their robotic tutor, 2Tor, Rick and Evie set out to locate their father's old partner and the rest of the formula. Matters are complicated by a classmate, the pink-obsessed, plastic-loving 11-year-old "super-secret CEO" of an evil corporation. Details of the Lanes's over-the-top inventions and posh school (students sky-dive to class every day) give an excessively cartoonish feel to the book without helping to develop the plot or characters. "Science" in this science fiction is minimal, and utterly disregarded if it interferes with plot or cool gadgetry. At one point, the kids must name the four principles of aerodynamics, but no explanation is ever attempted as to how their giant sequoia hovercraft is able to stay aloft. The terraforming fluid works like magic to instantly transform plastics into mud populated with plant and animal life. The writing is frenetic, with a rapid succession of settings and dialogue that reads like a list of one-line jokes. Some reluctant readers may appreciate the zippy pace and original premise.-Rachel Anne Mencke, Al Raja School Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Grades 4-6 Two spunky siblings are on a quest to turn the Great Pacific Garbage Patch into an eighth continent in this light sci-fi series opener. Rick and Evie Lane are determined to get their inventor father out of trouble with an icy global policing agency, and that means heading someplace immune to the agency's rules. Dad is in possession of one half of a formula that can change garbage into organic matter, and thus a mass of oceanic trash into a haven. But since he is under house arrest, the kids need to find their father's missing former partner, who has the other half of the concoction. Of course what's a quest without a villain, and Vesuvia, child CEO of a corporation determined to pave the world, is a doozy. In love with anything pink and plastic, she is the antithesis to the Lanes, who are so ecologically correct that their hovercraft is made from a repurposed tree trunk. It's all rather slapdash but nonetheless good fun in the tradition of M. T. Anderson's Pals in Peril series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)