Rosemary and her family have high hopes for the lovely old country house: it's generously equipped with a study for Dad, a practice room for Mom, who teaches dance, and space for brother Nicky's fossil collections. Still, Rosemary reluctantly realizes, something is trying to make them unwelcome: her bike and other treasures disappear, the weather is unseasonably cold, and there are mysterious manifestations like a sinister cat and a plague of toads. Meanwhile, Rosemary becomes friends with a comfortingly sensible neighbor boy, Ernie; together they investigate the house's link with Mathilda, an ancient crone seen at a shack in the nearby woods. Vignettes from Mathilda's life, alternating with Rosemary's experiences, reveal that she is the witchy remnant of an unloved child, still yearning for affection and for her former home as she faces a decisive choice on her 150th birthday. The author adroitly weaves the dynamics of this engaging family into her pleasantly spooky tale: Rosemary, who sees herself as the only family member without a special calling, is actually a lover of words who is often tongue-tied because Dad, in his enthusiasm for categorizing everything, tends to ``go on at her.'' At the same time, Turner thoughtfully explores the idea of home and how it can be shared. In the end, Rosemary's willingness to give Mathilda her best-loved possession sets the woeful creature free —and also frees the house and town of her malevolent presence. A skillfully written, entertaining story. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 15, 1991
ISBN: 0-06-026127-7
Page Count: 164
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
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