Time Villains

May 24, 2021
A notorious historical villain overstays his welcome after three Maryland students inadvertently summon him to a dinner party in this engaging fantasy series opener. Every year at Finistere, “a full-on, spires-and-everything medieval castle turned into a school,” students must complete the same dinner party assignment: “If you could invite any three people, living or dead, who would you invite?” This year, 12-year-old Javi Santiago, who is Puerto Rican and an aspiring chef, isn’t sure whom to include, so he recruits his bookish best friend Will “Wiki” Green to help choose the perfect guests. But when Javi, his younger sister Brady, and Wiki accidentally wield a magic table’s summoning powers and let a cartoonishly rendered pirate Blackbeard loose in their world, they must race to send him back before he can enact his evil plans. Confident third grader Brady (“Now find yourself another Pirate Queen, ya scurvy dog!”) steals scenes—and Blackbeard’s respect. Great for fans of Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, debut author Piñeiro’s writing offers plenty of humor, as well as clever historical and literary Easter eggs for readers to puzzle out. Includes a character guide. Ages 8–12. Agent: Elana Roth Parker, Laura Dail Literary.

July 1, 2021
In this zany romp, underachiever Javier, his younger sister Brady, and his best friend Wiki aren't expecting historical figures to actually appear when they take on their school's "Which three people would you invite to dinner?" assignment. But Javi and Brady's new dining-room table turns out to have magical powers, allowing it to summon both real and fictional people to the meal. Mozart and the Earl of Sandwich are easily sent back to where they came from, but the third guest is the notorious pirate Blackbeard, who has no intention of returning to the past and schemes to take control of the table so he can call the rest of his crew to join him in suburban Maryland. As Javi, Brady, and Wiki race to save their town from pirates, they find out more about the table's magical powers as well as about their somewhat odd teachers, who were themselves brought to the school through earlier dinner parties. Pineiro incorporates the characters' ethnic backgrounds -- Javi and Brady are Puerto Rican; Wiki has Haitian ancestry -- creatively and authentically into the story. The historical and literary figures who appear around the table and in the classroom include both classics (Captain Ahab, Dracula, Frida Kahlo) and less-well-known individuals (Hattori Hanz, Anzar), and readers will appreciate the back matter with information about each. Sarah Rettger

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2021

Gr 4-6-Puerto Rican siblings Javi and Brady along with their friend Wiki have discovered a purring table. Well, it does more than purr. Andy, as they nickname him, can bring people from the past for a dinner party. Super cool for a school assignment that asks which three people would you invite from history for a dinner party. Not so cool when one of the guests you invite is Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard the Pirate, and he escapes into your world. Now Javi, Brady, and Wiki aren't sleeping and aren't concentrating at school (by the way, what is up with the ancient castle they go to school in and the teachers who seem a little too much like some people they have read about?) because they are worried they are going to be killed by Blackbeard if they don't use Andy to bring his crew to this world. It appears that all is lost, but when past fabled and famous people join together and combine with stories from Wiki's Haitian family, defeat is impossible. The informal writing style and vocabulary try to capture the narrative voice of tween Javi, but the writing ends up being stilted and sometimes the plot feels awkward, with abrupt ends of events or giving readers d�j� vu by repeating certain circumstances. This book combines the many myths of Edward Teach and the glorified stereotype of pirates in an attempt to create an engaging tale, but the humor falls flat. A short appendix includes accurate historical or literary biographies of each of the people encountered in the novel yet the portrayals of a number of them in the actual story contradict the facts given for them. The concept of having historical and literary figures visiting the modern world might strike the funny bone of some readers, but the inconsistent way they are incorporated into the modern world takes some of the fun out. VERDICT Though this has great potential as a story and is a wonderful concept, the execution of the plot and the portrayal of the characters does not recommend it for purchase.-Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury P.L., MA

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2021
Historical guests come to dinner and chaos ensues in this uproarious debut. Twelve-year-old Javier Santiago's not doing so well at Finistere, his slightly cool, slightly weird semi-castle of a school in suburban Maryland. He's at risk of failing sixth grade and falling behind his brainiac, history-obsessed best friend, Wiki. Then comes the annual all-school project: invite three guests, living or dead, to dinner, then write an essay. For a budding chef like Javi, that's a piece of cake. Trouble arises when Javi uses his family's magical antique dining room table to accidentally pull his guests into the present day, including the infamous Blackbeard, who escapes before he can be sent back in time. Blackbeard wants to use the table to summon his fearsome crew and enact his plans to take over the modern world. Worse yet, the dreadful pirate is hilariously popping up all over Finistere, working as the school groundskeeper to ensure the success of his sinister plans. With the help of Brady, Javi's tough-as-nails younger sister, the boys work to take down Blackbeard while uncovering the school's mysterious secrets. Featuring a diverse cast led by the Puerto Rican siblings and Haitian American Wiki, grand doses of humor, and an irreverent take on some of history's well-known figures, Pi�eiro's book scores with this tale of friendship, magic, and adventure. A breakneck pace and Javi's colorful narration hold things together as the thrilling zaniness piles up. Magnificent. (list of characters) (Fantasy. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2021
In this zany romp, underachiever Javier, his younger sister Brady, and his best friend Wiki aren't expecting historical figures to actually appear when they take on their school's "Which three people would you invite to dinner?" assignment. But Javi and Brady's new dining-room table turns out to have magical powers, allowing it to summon both real and fictional people to the meal. Mozart and the Earl of Sandwich are easily sent back to where they came from, but the third guest is the notorious pirate Blackbeard, who has no intention of returning to the past and schemes to take control of the table so he can call the rest of his crew to join him in suburban Maryland. As Javi, Brady, and Wiki race to save their town from pirates, they find out more about the table's magical powers as well as about their somewhat odd teachers, who were themselves brought to the school through earlier dinner parties. Pineiro incorporates the characters' ethnic backgrounds -- Javi and Brady are Puerto Rican; Wiki has Haitian ancestry -- creatively and authentically into the story. The historical and literary figures who appear around the table and in the classroom include both classics (Captain Ahab, Dracula, Frida Kahlo) and less-well-known individuals (Hattori Hanzo;, Anzar), and readers will appreciate the back matter with information about each.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)