Tim Possible & the Secret of the Snake Pit

October 1, 2023
Toothy, outsize mole rats from Pluto turn out to be just one challenge facing anxiety-prone Tim and his fourth-grade compatriots in their latest planet-saving exploit. Hardly have Tim Sullivan, reckless buddy Tito Delgado, and genial time-traveling T. rex Oskar decided to team up as the Justice Three than they find their work cut out for them. A sudden town-wide rash of sinkholes leads, after several daffy twists, to a brisk round of literal Whack-A-(Were-)Mole and a climactic confrontation with a gigantic weremole queen. Meanwhile, Tim at last begins to get a better handle on controlling his worries--which is a particularly good thing because, as series fans will know, his superpower is making anxious what-ifs turn real. And though "always-snotty-and-rich-beyond-measure" nemesis William Woodrow Wiggle the Third is once more on hand to irritate our heroes, still, the Justice Three have become Justice Friends with the addition of Tim's cool and unsurprisingly competent crush Zoe Charms. Line drawings featuring shark-mouthed rodents and pop-eyed kids (some, like Tito, who's cued as Latine, with lightly tinted skin, but most paper white) crank up the comedy. Readers unfamiliar with the earlier installments can jump right in but will want to return to Tim Possible & the Time-Traveling Rex (2022) and Tim Possible & All That Buzz (2023). Further antic adventures, with a bit of character development folded in. (Fantasy. 8-10)

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