Knights and Bikes

August 15, 2021
Two girls bond over knights, castles, toys, and real treasure in this series opener inspired by a video game. Nine-year-old Demelza Penrose and her pet goose, Captain Honkers, live in a little camper on a caravan site owned by her father on Penfurzy Island in Cornwall, England. Demelza's life is upended when a mysterious girl called Nessa breaks in during a storm. When Demelza finds out that her father needs to sell the camper park due to declining revenues, she and Nessa spring into action to defend the property. Their discovery of Demelza's deceased mother's notebook containing clues to the legend of the Penfurzy knights and their lost treasure propels them on a series of hair-raising adventures. Fixing up a couple of old bikes to serve as steeds, the girls embark on a lengthy quest, which takes them to a junkyard in search of the Staff of Truth, up a high tor, and into a sunken castle where they engage in battle with sinister knights and discover a roomful of treasure. A satisfying plot twist ensures a happy ending for Demelza and her father and cements the girls' friendship. This is a lighthearted, swashbuckling tale in which physical bravery as well as smarts and honesty are rewarded. Expressive cartoon-style black-and-white illustrations dot the pages. Nessa is of Asian Indian descent; Demelza is cued as White. Future quests for these adventuresome girls are assured--and will be most welcome. (map) (Adventure. 8-10)

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July 15, 2023
The Penfurzy Rebel Bicycle Club saves not only the island, but maybe the whole world in this third video game-inspired episode following Rebel Bicycle Club (2023). The club--which includes friends Demelza and Nessa, Captain Honkers the goose, and Mr. Calenick, a pickled medieval knight with a detachable head--gains a new member when Jack arrives on the island (established in previous entries as being in Cornwall) with his white dad and Haitian mom as part of a traveling carnival with several secrets and a rusty old bicycle in serious need of proper tricking out. One of the secrets, it turns out, is that Jack is a descendant of a certain legendary Jack from folklore, and another is that there are giants in caverns below Penfurzy, rendered harmless (for now) by a sleeping spell that is in desperate need of being renewed if they are not to rise and wreak havoc. Can the club members, wielding foam swords and riding wheeled steeds with names like Neon Justice II and Rogue Avenger, find a way into the giants' cavern before they wake up? Created in conjunction with the Knights and Bikes video game, this volume features both blocky illustrations that reflect the game's distinctive graphics and a pacey plotline festooned with obstacles, sudden reversals of fortune, magical helpers, daring exploits, and comical banter. Brisk, bold, and buoyant. (map) (Fantasy adventure. 8-10)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.