Elisabeth Greenberg (Children's Literature)
This rollicking alternative world fantasy sucks the reader into Art Mumby's world, a world in which Newton's discovery of gravity led to extraordinary houses floating in space and human forays to Mars and farther. Art Mumby's world turns topsy-turvy when white spiders invade his house, Larklight. He and his prissy Victorian sister, Myrtle, escape in their lifeboat. While Art is delighted to escape Myrtle's stumbling exercises on the piano, he quickly falls into worse and worse circumstances--trapped by a potter moth on the moon and left as food for its grub, then rescued by an insouciant boy space pirate Captain Jack Havock and his crew, escapees from the Royal Xenological Institute. The adventures come fast and furious as Myrtle is kidnapped and is off on adventures of her own, Captain Jack and Art venture into the depths of the wind-race of Jupiter to ask guidance of Thunderhead, and Jack and Art with their trusty crew discover the spiders' plan to take over the universe. Laced with sly Victorian allusions to Captain Richard Burton, explorer extraordinaire, and Dickens's serials hitting the papers on Farpoo, beautifully illustrated throughout in fantastical and comical line drawings, this book is a treasure to hold and read. Naturally, these Victorian space adventurers save the queen, regain their family and home (while discovering even more outrageous secrets of the universe), and not only make friends with some wild and weird creatures, but, just maybe, begin their first forays into adolescent love. This wonderfully imaginative story would make a perfect gift for any adventurous preteen. 2006, Bloomsbury Publishing, $16.95. Ages 12 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 18))
The glory of Empire meets Star Trek in this space fantasy-picaresque that Edgar Rice Burroughs would have loved. Staunch British citizens Art Mumby and older sister Myrtle live in Larklight, a free-floating home just on the other side of the Moon. When giant white spiders invade and attack their father, the two escape, propelled into a series of adventures that bring them into contact with Jack Havock, teen pirate, his crew of xenomorphs upon the aether-ship Sophronia, Sir Richard Burton, agent of Her Majesty's Secret Service on Mars and Thunderhead, the vast intelligence that is the Red Spot of Jupiter. Reeve brilliantly creates a world where the environs of space are governed by credibly 19th-century assumptions: Interplanetary travel takes place in wooden vessels; the aether has enough oxygen for our dauntless characters to breathe; and a panoply of whimsical aliens populates the solar system. Art, the quintessential boy, narrates this rip-roaring adventure, allowing his very ladylike sister's diary to fill in the holes when they are separated, and the interplay between the two is priceless in itself. Jolly good fun, all around. 2006, Bloomsbury, 384p, $16.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 10 to 14. Starred Review. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Spencer Korson (Library Media Connection, February 2007)
This exciting adventure tale packs in so many storylines that it is not able to fully develop any of them. Aided by Jack, a young space pirate, and his mismatched band of aliens, Art successfully saves his family and home from the dreaded white spiders, which results in the ultimate salvation of the universe. This is a creative story, attempting to take the future of space travel into the 1800s, though the technology does not always seem to fit together. The earthly focus is on England, and Briticisms abound. The adventure and pirate elements of this story will appeal; however, the overall quality of the tale was somewhat disappointing. Additional Selection. 2006, Bloomsbury Children's Books, 250pp., $16.95 hc. Ages 10 to 13.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, February 2007 (Vol. 60, No. 6))
Motherless siblings Art and Myrtle Mumby live comfortably and uneventfully in an alternative nineteenth-century universe in their outer space home, Larklight, as their icthyomorphologist father busies himself with the study of exotic specimens. An upcoming visit by Mr. Webster of the Royal Xenological Society in London promises diversion for Art and perhaps some romance for Myrtle, but Mr. Webster rather disappointingly turns out to be a giant spider who kills their father, wraps Larklight in a web, and leaves them scurrying for safety in an escape barrel. And then things get bad. The sibs end up encased in pods of flesh-eating larvae, only to be rescued by orphan pirate Jack Havock and his loyal crew of aliens who just don’t seem to show the proper respect for a well-bred British miss like Myrtle. But Art likes them just fine, and they’re mighty handy at saving the Earth (and even more importantly the British Empire), which is exactly what is needed when an evil industrialist builds the Crystal Palace out of an automaton spider and sets it on an agenda of rampage and conquest. Reeve gleefully plunders everything from Kipling (in a wonderful send-up of imperialism) to Star Trek (that has to be Scotty whining about the engine) for his zany plot elements and delivers them with deadpan hilarity through Art’s stiff-upper-lip narration. Wyatt’s profuse black-and-white pictures and spot art are delightfully detailed and extend the humor visually. The motherless siblings get their parents back after all, Myrtle gets her guy, lisping space-critter engineer Silissa gets a dress that fits her cumbersome tail properly, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert regain their temporarily rattled composure, and every villain in the galaxy gets its comeuppance. Huzzah! Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2006, Bloomsbury, 399p., $16.95. Grades 5-8.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2007)
Art and his prim sister live in an alternate nineteenth century in which Britain has colonized the solar system. When elephant-sized space-spiders attack their home, the siblings must stiff-upper-lip their way through the ensuing adventure. Capturing both the pathos and humor of every absurd situation, Reeve offers a genre-defying work that melds deadpan comedy, political satire, sci-fi epic, and pirate caper. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2006, Bloomsbury, 405pp, 16.95. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 1: Outstanding, noteworthy in style, content, and/or illustration.

Teresa Copeland (VOYA, December 2006 (Vol. 29, No. 5))
What if space and other planets had atmospheres and civilizations? What if the Victorian Empire extended to the moons of Jupiter, with sailing ships powered by alchemy? Myrtle and Arthur live in such a world on Larklight, a large, rambling old house that floats in earth's orbit. There they collect space fish for their father, who studies them, and generally lead a boring life. The arrival of Mr. Webster and a ship of spiders intent on stealing their house sends the siblings on a mad adventure that ranges from London to Saturn. They get help from pirates, strange creatures, explorer Richard Burton, and the great storm of Jupiter while they work to thwart the spiders' plans to take over the solar system and figure out what it is that makes Larklight so important. Written like a nineteenth-century travelogue, the story features Art as narrator and commentator, occasionally inserting pages from Myrtle's diary, notes, and asides that further explain the world, and referring to Wyatt's wonderfully detailed etching-style illustrations. At times Art's voice is pretentious and annoying, with British pluck taken to the extreme. Reeve fills his characters with stereotypes of the Victorian era, including the attitudes toward non-Europeans as savages and heathens, pushing them to the point of absurdity. The characters grow up a lot, and the plot twists and turns tightly, with a few subtly foreshadowed surprises and plenty of adventure. This fun read will appeal mostly to fans of the steampunk genre. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2006, Bloomsbury, 384p., $16.95. Ages 11 to 15.