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Summary
Summary
When Dakota Pink decides to find out the truth about Medusa's baby monster it is the beginning of a quest that will lead Dakota and her best friend, Treacle, away from the White Flats to Dog Island and the Fortress. Will they manage to excape the mutant killer eels to discover what lies behind the barbed wire of the Fortress and who the mysterious Lassitter Peach is?
Author Notes
Chris Riddell was born on April 13, 1962. He is a British illustrator and occasional writer of children's books and a political cartoonist for The Observer. He has won two Kate Greenaway Medals, the British librarians' annual award for the best-illustrated children's book, and two of his works were commended runners-up. Books that he wrote or illustrated have won three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes and have been silver or bronze runners-up four times. He was shortlisted for the 2015 Kate Greenaway Medal for his title Goth Girl: And the Ghost of a Mouse. He was named the ninth Waterstones Children's Laureate in 2015. Riddell was presented with a Children¿s Laureate medal and a £15,000 (A$30,014) bursary cheque at a ceremony in London, where he announced plans to promote visual literacy during his two-year term.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-- Dakota Pink lives in a Clockwork Orange world with a mother who hasn't been out of her armchair in nine years; a greedy, underhanded boarder named Henry; and her pet silverfish. Her best friend, Treacle, lives in the same dilapidated apartment complex as Dakota, and together they survive each day in a world crowded with skeletal images of broken shopping carts and other garbage, populated by eccentric characters and man-eating eels. Ridley's tale of the all-too-near future starts off silly but clever, full of tongue-in-cheek dialogue and exaggerated description, fantastic in a twisted, Daniel Pinkwater-like way. But as Dakota's search for a stolen turtle and a missing jewel progresses, the story takes an unsettling turn and the humor becomes tinged with pain. The climactic scene, in which Dakota recognizes the villain, a man who vomits at the sight of children playing, as her long-lost father, is unsettling, but not surprising. Although this may be enjoyed by sophisticated youngsters, would-be fans of Monty Python and Dr. Who, it is a very black comedy pulled out of the depths of despair by a character who is funny, smart, and always in control. --Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in a dingy, run-down housing complex ironically named White Flats, this hilarious adventure begins when two young residents, quick-witted Dakota Pink and her sidekick, ``Treacle'' Duck, discover the jewel-encrusted pet turtle belonging to their neighbor Medusa, an over-the-hill actress. After the animal (who might be a reincarnation of Medusa's former lover) is stolen by the despicable Henry Twig, the heroines embark on a journey down a murky canal to perform a daring rescue attempt. Readers with active imaginations and stomachs strong enough to digest the more grotesque episodes of this off-beat novel will delight in Ridley's ability to extract excitement, color and magic from the grim wasteland of urban decay that Dakota and her friends call home. Offering fast-paced action, ingenious plotting and an assortment of eccentric characters, the book will tempt even the most die-hard realists to suspend disbelief. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved