by Anonymous ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2009
Ten years ago, there was a dearth of recent books on HIV/AIDS for young people. Now, as if the disease has vanished from America, it is rare to find a book with contemporary information. This slim book fills this void with up-to-date medical information and a personal perspective offering insight into what it is like to watch someone battle with HIV/AIDS. That the author felt the need to publish anonymously is telling of the extent to which the social stigma of the disease persists. She chronicles the journey of Jay, her brother-in-law, from his diagnosis to his death, describing the emotional toll his illness and death took on family and friends and sharing practical advice on how one can remain a good friend to someone diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Interspersed throughout is current information about the virus, including origins, communicability, precautions, symptoms and treatments, with a great deal of attention to addressing the myths about how the virus is transmitted. An accessible, informative, insider’s view, this book reminds readers that there is still a long way to go. (further information, glossary, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-16)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7636-1589-5
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2009
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by Karen Cushman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 14, 2006
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
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by Elle Cosimano ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2016
Intertwined spectral and real worlds deliver double the thrills.
Leaving his actual body behind in prison, Smoke can move through the world as a ghost in this fantastic yet real portrait of a survivor seeking answers.
John “Smoke” Conlan has survived a brutal beating from his father, a murder conviction, and prison life. His uncanny ability evidently triggered by the beating, Smoke exists inside and outside the fictional Greater Denver Youth Offender Rehabilitation Center (unrealistically represented as a maximum security prison). Smoke keeps his physical body protected on the inside thanks to the balance of favors earned outside his body. On one such errand, he discovers that a young waitress at a seedy dive can actually see him. Smoke’s vivid present-tense narration is filtered according to his concerns. He insists that he is innocent of killing his favorite teacher but guilty of killing a fellow student in self-defense, keeping readers teetering between a belief that the punishment is justified and cheering Smoke on to fight for freedom. The narrative’s romance is chaste, and it tempers the intensity brought to the story by the threats of guards, fellow inmates, and outside criminals. Though the complex plot is based on an impossible premise, readers will be flipping the pages, watching the diverse cast (Smoke is white) race toward the climax.
Intertwined spectral and real worlds deliver double the thrills. (Paranormal suspense. 11-16)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4847-2597-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
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