Another upbeat, modern school story sure to please fans and teachers.
There’s no such thing as too much reading…until it gets you in trouble.
Sixth-grader Alec loves to read. For the past five years he has been sent to principal Mrs. Vance’s office multiple times for reading instead of paying attention in class. As sixth grade starts, Mrs. Vance gives the white preteen an ultimatum: stop reading when he should be listening or end up in summer school (which will destroy the annual family trip to New Hampshire). Worse than that, his parents will be spending longer hours at work, so he and his brother have to stay three extra hours in the Extended Day Program at school. According to EDP rules you either do homework in the library or you join a club. Happily, Alec learns he can actually start his own club, which he calls the Losers Club in order to scare kids away and ensure quiet reading time. Former best friend and now popular kid Kent delights in tormenting Alec, especially when the boys realize they both like new girl Nina (co-founder of the Losers Club). Can Alec navigate the rough waters of sixth grade, keep his grades up, and, most importantly, read? Clements adds to his growing oeuvre this tale peopled with likably familiar, mostly white kid characters in realistic situations; black Losers Club recruit Lily provides some diversity. Avid readers will cheer Alec on and wish their school bullies were as easily managed as Kent. Backmatter includes a list of the books, classics and popular, that the kids read throughout the story.
Another upbeat, modern school story sure to please fans and teachers. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55755-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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