July 19, 2021
Carl Chesterfield loves his parents, his home of Pittsburgh, and the city’s 400 bridges—which the men on his father’s side have engineered for generations—but his shyness prevents him from speaking up much at home or at school. Since “few places remain for new bridges to be built,” Carl’s engineer father is stuck repairing them—lately, at a bizarrely high rate. Seeking “a new noble profession,” Carl’s dad spontaneously mortgages the family’s home to buy a rusty food truck and a spot of land under a bridge. While Carl’s ever-arguing parents navigate this decision’s financial fallout, Carl begins to notice that the increasing bridge damage looks to be the work of steel-hungry monsters. When confident principal’s son Teddy and vivacious Bee team up with shy Carl, forming the Midnight Brigade, they meet Frank, a 25-foot-tall troll with a mysterious past involving bridge protection. Together, the four work to save Pittsburgh’s bridges and the food truck’s future. Carl’s parents are realistically flawed, and his mix of feelings around their constant fighting ring true as a candid third-person narrative follows the presumed-white characters through Borba’s whimsical, sincere debut. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Janine Kamouh, WME.
August 15, 2021
Carl Chesterfield can see 33 bridges from his Pittsburgh window. Descended from generations of bridge engineers, Carl is avidly interested in the structures. His creatively frustrated father spends his time repairing bridges because there is no room to build new ones--and strangely, more repairs are needed than ever as bridges are being damaged in unusual ways. Friendless Carl spots a cryptic flyer warning people about the damage to bridges, making him wonder whether someone else also believes that monsters are the culprit. Carl's father finally opens a food truck near an old bridge constructed by Carl's great-grandfather where, as a proudly average person, he insists on serving average food, which he mistakenly believes will have broad appeal. Carl finally makes a friend in Teddy (flyer creator and school principal's son), who broaches the monster theory. However, Carl encounters Frank, a troll who lives under the bridge near his father's food truck, who, rather than eating them, once protected bridges. Bee, another classmate and daughter of Pittsburgh's foremost restaurant critic, soon joins the boys. This occasionally humorous novel features a likable cast of middle school kids and their families. Frank plays an amusing role in saving the day--after causing much of the trouble. Most main characters read as White; Bee and her mother are East Asian. Photorealistic grayscale spot art greatly enhances the text, bringing the setting and characters' emotions to life. An unusual story about forging new bonds. (Fantasy. 9-12)
COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Starred review from August 1, 2021
Grades 4-6 *Starred Review* Where better for a weary old troll to retire than a city with well over 400 bridges to hide under--which is to say, Pittsburgh? Or so Borba suggests in a debut that also features two solitary children, Bee and Teddy, each with single parents, and a third, Carl, whose loving but stiff-necked dad has secretly mortgaged the house to open a food truck on a patch of not-exactly-uninhabited land right beneath one of the city's oldest spans. It seems that something has been gnawing on the local bridges. Teddy is convinced it's a monster, and so even though he and Bee are at loggerheads because their parents are dating each other (worse yet: Teddy's dad is their school's principal!), he sets up the titular club to investigate. He turns out to be right, too, but the 25-foot-tall "monster," whose name is Frank, is more given to dispensing help and wise advice than bad behavior (unless you're a goat, of course). That's good, because there are personal issues as well as the bridge business to resolve. Resolved they are by the end of this tongue-in-cheek frolic; even the failing food truck might be saved, thanks to a secret trollish ingredient that is uncannily delicious--albeit too disgusting to mention here. Finished versions of the occasional illustrations not seen.
COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
