Nightmares! by Jason Segel, Kirsten Miller

Rating: WARTY!

“Coraline meets Monsters, Inc." That's me out right there. It's insulting when someone compares you as an author to a mashup of two other authors, or your work to a blend of two other works - like you ripped it off. "Charlie must learn to conquer his fears when his nightmares start crossing over into the real world"? Seriously? Doesn't he have a chocolate factory to run, too! There's a serious problem here and Charlie is right to be scared that his nightmares are coming out onto Elm Street. Oh, wait: now there's a third mashup! Ye gads!

Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb by Kirsten Miller

Title: Kiki Strike: The Empress's Tomb
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Rating: WORTHY!

The title of this novel is something of a misnomer, implying that it's about Kiki Strike when it actually isn't. Yes, she appears at crucial times throughout the narrative to facilitate the action, a bit like a deus ex machina, but Kiki is side-lined by her protector Veruska's life-threatening illness, and she takes a back seat in this adventure (as indeed does most of the crew to one extent or another), leaving the stage to Oona and to Ananka, who is telling the story again. This is the second in what is a series. I already reviewed the first one. The third is now available. I suspect that there will be at least seven, because there are seven main characters in the irregulars:

Iris isn't shown here, nor is she mentioned in the irregulars group at the web site. I don't know why. The web site is worth a visit if you're into this series. It has a lot of interesting stuff.

The girls are now fourteen years old and still together as the irregulars, still righting wrongs and fighting the good fight, but there's some dissension in the ranks. Ananka is growing increasingly suspicious of Oona's behavior, thinking she's going over to the dark side. This becomes especially startling when Oona's father, the notorious Chinese gangster Lester Liu, who escaped capture in volume one, pops up again, seemingly reformed and asking Oona back into his life - the girl he tossed away at her birth like garbage because of her "useless" gender. His life now, he claims, is to be one of contrition and philanthropy.

Oona has a secret which she wants to share with the irregulars, but no one seems to have time to listen, and some are antagonistic towards her for being spoiled, snooty, rich, and unkind to their newest honorary member, Iris, who is two or three years younger than the rest of them.

So what are these distractions? Well, the first is the break-in at a pet store which occupies the ground-floor of an apartment block. The apartments are subsequently invaded by animals which were released from the store, each critter sporting a necklace which itself sports a small sign saying "I want to go home" or words to that effect. The immediate suspect is the legendary Kiki Strike, but Ananka doesn't believe it's her - it's not Kiki's style. The next thing is the new artwork appearing all over the city - a form of artistic graffiti that depicts squirrels issuing warnings about abusing animals. As if that isn't plenty to consider, large squirrels start mugging people in Central Park! And why did Phineas run away from his psychologist parents?

As if all that isn't enough on her plate, and intent upon mapping the last section of tunnel in the Shadow City, Ananka discovers a boy, and later a girl, both of whom have evidently been kidnapped from China. The two are talented artists, but why would someone want to illegally "export" artistic children? There is increasing pressure from Ananka's parents (who are suddenly a lot more hands-on than they ever were in volume 1) to wake up at school and bring her grades up, otherwise she'll be kidnapped herself, and exported to West Virginia to a farm school, which fills her with dread. But she has an ally in the principle of Atalanta school - or so she hopes.

This novel was a little bit too drawn-out for me. It could have benefited from being somewhat shorter, especially with regard to the finale. Still, it was really good - as good as the first one. It's the same kind of set-up, with Ananka's astute and often caustic observations as well as her end-of-chapter tips on topics like how to be mysterious, what to do with secrets, how to appreciate odors, and what not to put in your trash if you don't want someone to learn secrets about you.

I rate this novel a worthy read. The message here is make good friends and then trust them, and part of making good friends is to give them the benefit of the doubt, and to listen to them when they have something to say. This story is well-told and as intriguing as it is engaging. It builds on the groundwork laid in volume one, but is not so dependent upon it that you don't know where you are, even if you haven't read volume one. However, I'd recommend reading these in order. The first volume is so good and it will enrich the experience of reading this one.

Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller

Title: Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City
Author: Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Rating: WORTHY!

Not to be confused with Kirsten Miller the South African writer and artist, nor with actor Kristin Miller, nor with poet Kirsten Miller, it’s novelist Kirsten Miller's work that I'm reviewing here!

Not to be confused with Kirsten Miller the South African writer and artist, nor with actor Kristen Miller, nor with poet Kirsten Miller, it’s novelist Kirsten Miller's work that I'm reviewing here!

Note that this is a book by a girl, for girls, about girls. It’s not that boys aren't allowed, it’s that they’re simply not needed. This novel is a magnificent exemplar of how to write a novel about strong, independent, no-nonsense young women. Miller gets it and isn't shy about showing it. I wish a host of young-adult authors would take a leaf (or fifty) from this novel and re-write some of their sorry and sad main female characters. Having said that, these girls are only twelve, and so aren't even within the YA range, and I have to wonder where parenting was! A story like this is fine for some fun fiction, but the sad thing is that there are really young girls out there who are saddled with, shall I term it 'disengaged' parents and unfortunately, those children are certainly not having the time of their lives.

Kiki Strike is the subject of this novel, but it's told in first person (and not obnoxiously, so this proves it can be done if you know how to do it!) by Ananka Fishbein, who attends the Atalanta school for girls, where some get in on their money, others on scholarships. It's needless to say how Ananka is there. It's Ananka who first starts getting interested in Kiki, and the two of them eventually hook up and recruit four others to help them: Luz Lopez, DeeDee Morlock, Betty Bent, and Oona Wong. Luz Lopez is the 'electro-genius' (inventor) and she is good friends with DeeDee Morlock, but often clashes with her, quick to point out the fact that DeeDee is much more well-off and privileged than she. She's installed a fire extinguisher which saves Deedee's life many a time. Although Luz is innocent, she has a criminal record which she is often worried about. She is very poor, but more than meets the eye. Betty is expert in disguise, Dee-Dee in explosives and chemistry, and Oona in forgery.

Miller inserts some text here and there throughout this novel offering some delightful (if potentially dangerous), and amusing advice for young female adventurers on how to lie, how to disguise yourself, how to properly prepare for exploration adventures, and so on. Heaven knows where she came up with this stuff, but I loved it, particularly the smart portions of it, even as I hoped that there are no twelve-year-old girls who would read this and then actually try to follow some of the more questionable advice! On the topic of text, here's one weird bit: "…but there was one thing I knew for certain. At least some of the people who had called Shadow City home had never left." This screams for a colon between 'certain' and 'At' in place of the period.

But beefs aside, Miller keeps this story cooking at a warm temperature, continually revealing new and interesting character and plot twists as she goes. The five girls display their individual talents as they ramp-up their plan to discover an entrance to Shadow City, and to explore it fully. Ananka has no special talent, but she has a repository of wonderful books, collected by her parents, at her apartment and so her 'talent' is considered to be that of a librarian. Oona brings her abilities in forgery and computer hacking, DeeDee brings her chemical and explosives knowledge, and Betty her ability to create amazing disguises. Kiki's avowed intention is to own Shadow City, locking-up weak spots to prevent a criminal element from making use of it, even as they explore and map every tunnel of the underground world, seeking "treasure" that might be lurking in forgotten nooks.

Given that they wait for the summer holidays as they prepare and plan, I failed to grasp why they then pursued their avocation at night. It made no sense whatsoever, and necessitated the majority of the girls lying to their parents and exposing themselves to unnecessary risks. This would have been fine had there been some explanation offered for the nocturnal nature of the activities, but Miller offers none. She just expects us to accept that this is the way it is. That was a weak spot for me, but not a killer.

As the explorations begin, Ananka becomes increasingly suspicious of Kiki, but she's the only one who seems to suspect an ulterior motive for her putting together this talented team of feisty fillies. At one point, Kiki is insistent that DeeDee blow open a door against Ananka's objections. DeeDee has done this kind of thing before, but this time something goes wrong, and DeeDee is injured, a flood ensues as a pipe is ruptured, and Kiki disappears with a sack of what appear to be gold coins which the quintet had discovered that night!

That's all the spoilers you’re getting! Of course, here we’re meant to think ill of Kiki, and Miller has put in some decent attempts to sour her for us, but I refused to be fooled. I don’t see the how you can title your novel 'Kiki Strike' and then make her into the villain, so that attempt at slapping a big red herring in my face was squandered!

In conclusion, this novel was excellent: it was inventive, entertaining, and full of adventure. I recommend it.