Pamela F. Service

A pleasant enough YA novel of with a bit of unconventional time travel and some softy (but on reflection really bizarre) gods. Our heroine is typically discomforted by conventional boarding school life and gets the benefit of some divine interference with a young royal also typically discomforted by restrictions and duties of palace life. His expected life is totally trashed and hers gets a boost, but really, it's all OK if the gods are fine with it. Reads OK, but don't think about it too much.

I've been eagerly eyeing this one on our cataloging cart, just waiting for it to come into my happy hands. Pamela Service keeps up the good work in her Alien Agent series in the fourth volume!

Zack's fourth adventure isn't as wacky or funny as his previous ones. There's a serious atmosphere, as he's dealing with the painful issue of hiding his big secret from his parents. His assignment touches on that issue and Zack has some very serious moments. But there's plenty of fun also! Talking dogs, show more alien costume festivals, and cool gadgets abound. Pamela Service does an excellent job of introducing a serious note into the series and bringing one arc of the plot to a close while opening up future story possibilities.

This is THE science fiction series for beginning chapter readers, as well as any kids who like a funny story and a good plot. No repetitions or stereotypes here! Pamela Service handles ideas about tolerance, futuristic science, human behavior, and family dynamics in an age-appropriate, humorous, and fast-paced read. Every book is highly recommended for public and school libraries!

Verdict: Must have! Get it now!

ISBN: 978-0822588733; Published March 2010 by CarolRhoda; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library show less

Pamela Service’s Stinker From Space manages to accomplish a challenging feat: it creates an engaging, accessible science fiction story for elementary school readers. Oftentimes, science fiction tends to get bogged down in complicated quantum mechanics and dark, adult themes; however, Service’s book manages to avoid such pitfalls of “maturity” through its sense of wonder and humor. Although it doesn’t carry the same sophistication or timelessness of A Wrinkle in Time, Service’s show more Stinker From Space is a delightful “gateway story” for young readers delving into science fiction for the first time.

Stinker From Space tells the story of interstellar pilot Tsynq Yr, an alien who crash-lands on earth and winds up in the body of… a skunk. While the premise might seem a bit silly for older readers, the book actually creates a narrative that is not far removed from Steven Spielberg’s classic E.T.: young children help a stranded alien to find his way back home while trying to keep their mission a secret. However, while E.T. has dark and terrifying moments (including government abductions and dissections), Stinker From Space is relatively lighthearted and sweet; when the “bad guys” do appear in the story, they are not very frightening (resembling a blob with bamboo sticks for legs), and they are easily defeated. Another “inside joke” that children will enjoy is the book’s decision to cast adults as unwitting and blissfully ignorant, while the book’s children are the real “brains” of the story. Obviously, this will appeal to young readers, who will delight in the exploits of the book’s clever, heroic children, Karen and Jonathan.

Despite its short length (just under one hundred pages), Stinker From Space creates a narrative that is endearing and entertaining. In Service’s story, children live in a world where aliens are as cute and cuddly as a woodland creature… albeit a stinky one. For emerging readers who are fascinated by outer space but frightened by scary aliens, Stinker From Space is a perfectly non-threatening book.

Citation:
Service, Pamela F. Stinker From Space. New York: Scribner's, 1988. Print. show less

Reviewed by Candace Cunard for TeensReadToo.com

The sequel to TOMORROW'S MAGIC packs a definite punch. Hundreds of years into Earth's future, humanity has lost control of its nuclear weapons and destroyed much of the planet, plunging the world into another ice age and killing off most of the human population. Years later, civilization is starting to rebuild in those few pockets of human life that remain, but this civilization looks very different from the one that preceded it. For one thing, show more the high levels of radiation have mutated numerous plants, creatures, and even humans, and those who have escaped extreme mutations have still been changed by their surroundings. But the other, more significant development is the resurgence of magical power into the world and the appearance of new forms of magic.

In the previous novel, British schoolchildren Heather and Welly opened up a portal to the Otherworld known as Avalon and brought back King Arthur with the intent of reuniting Britain. They also discover Merlin, who as a result of a spell he has used to cheat time is now a young boy again, the same age as Heather and Welly. Unfortunately, the return of magic into the world also heralds the return of Morgan Le Fay, evil sorceress bent on uniting the world to much darker purposes.

The conflict in YESTERDAY'S MAGIC begins when Morgan, thought to have been defeated, rigs an elaborate trap to kidnap Heather in order to drain her of her magical powers. Merlin, who is in love with Heather, runs to her rescue despite the caution of his friends that he may be Morgan's real target. The resulting chase leads Merlin around the world, where he encounters other civilizations that have survived the Devastation and are beginning to rebuild, all the while attempting to save Heather and protect these fledgling civilizations from Morgan's evil.

I hadn't read the previous novel in the series before picking this one up, but the richness of backstory present within the book had me itching for a copy of its predecessor within chapters. The author does a good job of presenting characters and their relationships with a sense of depth, giving not just an idea of who they are now, but who they were in the previous book and how their relationships have developed over the course of time. I also enjoyed her small details about the setting that helped me get a sense for the time--Heather's two-headed, two-tailed "mutie" dog comes to mind, as does a schoolchild's plastic lunchbox that is revered as treasure because plastic can no longer be manufactured and so much of it was destroyed during the Devastation. Service's blend of a new world and old magic makes for a compelling read. show less