In Red Shirt Kids, Bryce Clark and Kim B. Clark have achieved a rare success in creating an adventure that is entertaining and fun, but also teaches valuable principles without coming off as preachy or forced, as so many that attempt the same tend to do.  The book addresses issues of sibling rivalry, bullying, judging others, the uncertainties of moving to a new school, the differing talents of others, and the value of working together, all wrapped in a tale of mystery and magic superpowers.  The characters are believable and likeable, the confrontation climactic, the resolution satisfying while leaving an opening for a sequel.  There are a few things that give the book an inexperienced and unpolished feel: slightly underdeveloped narrative, inconsistencies in details, changes in perspective that are hard to follow or don’t quite flow, a dash of predictability and convenience.  However, most of these things would bother only the somewhat OCD reader, such as myself.  Overall, Red Shirt Kids is a fun, feel-good book that is edifying as well as entertaining.

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Gibbs Smith

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 1 mild obscenity; 1 offensive hand gesture.  

Violence/Gore:  Frightening description of villain, kidnaps kids; instances of bullying; stealing; one character throws something at another hard enough to knock him out and leave a welt; house collapses on top of a character; characters taken captive, blasted, levitated, imprisoned; character sprayed in the face with a chemical and knocked out; character taken hostage and threatened; explosions and fire destroy property.  

Sex/Nudity: One character has a crush on another; a character hugs another; a character kisses another on the cheek.  

Mature Subject Matter:

Kidnapping, Bullying, Verbal abuse from a parent.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

None