ALA Booklist (Tue Dec 03 00:00:00 CST 2024)

In the wake of "The Most Totally, Terribly, Horribly, Heinously Rotten Year of All Time," Milton's divorcing parents send him off to stay with his naturalist uncle, Evan, on aptly named Lone Island, where he meets the three likewise friendless children of the island's other resident scientists. The island is about to be sold off to real-estate developers unless proof of its unique species can be found, but its interior is blocked by impenetrable walls of "Truth-Will-Out" vine. Milton learns that admitting his true feelings aloud causes the vines to peel back, sparking an expedition that leads to encounters with a many-armed "Push-Pull Centopus," "Menu-You" fruit that tastes like anything you want, and other wonders. More important (to judge from the author's emphasis), the opportunities for the children to work through mutual suspicion and personal issues lead to an understanding of the importance of true friendship. The remote island filled with Dr. Dolittle style flora and fauna helps to keep this message-driven tale afloat, and readers will likely wish for even more scenes with the imaginative fancies.

Kirkus Reviews

When life deals precocious, friendless Milton P. Greene a blow, he escapes into his hand-held video game.Exploring the game's island with intrepid naturalist Sea Hawk is impossible after Milton's divorcing parents send him to visit his real-life naturalist uncle on an actual tropical island with no electricity and that used to be owned by Uncle Evan's mentor, the late Dr. Ava Paradis. Still smarting from the loss of his only friend, Milton gets the chance at a friendship reboot after meeting the resident scientists' children, Rafi and Gabe Alvarez and Fig Morris. Though unfriendly Rafi rebuffs him, Fig, if skeptical, welcomes his company. Dr. Paradis had described amazing flora and fauna, but despite scientists' efforts, few have been verified, as the impenetrable Truth-Will-Out Vine closed off the interior after her death. When Milton discovers how to part the vines, he finds Dr. Paradis' field guide-a mystery until Fig decodes it. Learning that the island will almost certainly be sold to a developer, Rafi and Gabe unexpectedly join the urgent quest to find species like the Push-Pull Centopus and Menu-You Bush and prevent the sale. The story is entertaining and fast-moving but suffers from slapdash execution and jarring shifts in tone. The silly flora and fauna, played for laughs, clash with potentially effective messages about bullying, loneliness, and family breakup and undercut the sincere environmentalist theme. Milton is presumed White; Rafi and Gabe are Latinx, and Fig is cued as Black.All the ingredients of a first-rate fantasy, disappointingly half-baked. (Fantasy. 8-12)

School Library Journal (Tue Dec 03 00:00:00 CST 2024)

Gr 4-6 Milton, a young white boy, is having a horrible sixth-grade year. His best friend has ditched him, his parents are getting divorced, and now his uncle wants him to spend the summer with him on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere. Of course, Milton doesn't want to go; he just wants to immerse himself in his explorer video game. But when he arrives on the island and finds there are three other kids living there, he realizes it's an opportunity to reinvent himself. Slowly he makes friends with Fig, the dark-skinned daughter of one of the island's research scientists. Rafi is another story, despite the friendliness of his younger brother Gabe, who has bright eyes and a laughing bronze that face pops up everywhere. Milton soon learns that all is not well on the island: the interior is covered in a strange vine, his uncle is distressed, the scientists are worried, and the island is under threat of developers who want to create a resort. When he stumbles across a journal with clues about the island's hidden treasure, Milton decides to help save the island with Fig. They are launched into a series of fantastical adventures as they follow the clues in the journal. The magical realism of this wild adventure will especially appeal to ecologically minded middle grade readers. VERDICT A fun summer read perfect for fans of Kate Beasley's Lions & Liars , and Lynda Mullaly Hunt's Shouting at the Rain .Gretchen Crowley, formerly at Alexandria City P.L., VA