A compelling school story that could have explored its central topic with greater depth.
At the start of sixth grade, Mira Toledano-Stone, an aspiring animator with social anxiety, decides this will be the year she conquers her fears and starts speaking in school.
In the comfort of her home, Mira has no problem talking, but no matter how much pressure she puts on herself, she can’t find her voice at school. On the first day of middle school, her plan to start fresh falls apart, and soon she’s become a target of bullying once again. Making stop-motion animation films is Mira’s outlet, but her younger sister always invades her space. To make matters worse, Mira’s parents betray her when they invite Chloe, her “pretend nice” former best friend, to live with them while her family deals with a crisis. With the help of a therapist, Mira navigates middle school woes and confronts her social anxiety. This coming-of-age graphic novel depicts a diverse world around Mira (who’s Jewish and has light-brown skin and dark hair), including her crush, who uses they/them pronouns. The relationship-focused plot has high appeal, but Mira’s parents’ complete lack of awareness—until a teacher calls home—that she hasn’t been speaking in school stretches the limits of believability. Additionally, the narrative, which Steinke explains in an author’s note reflects some of his own experiences, primarily focuses on Mira’s acquiring speech without acknowledging other forms of communication.
A compelling school story that could have explored its central topic with greater depth. (Graphic fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781338849325
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
During a school year in which a gifted teacher who emphasizes personal responsibility among his fifth graders ends up in a coma from a thrown snowball, his students come to terms with their own issues and learn to be forgiving. Told in short chapters organized month-by-month in the voices of seven students, often describing the same incident from different viewpoints, this weaves together a variety of not-uncommon classroom characters and situations: the new kid, the trickster, the social bully, the super-bright and the disaffected; family clashes, divorce and death; an unwed mother whose long-ago actions haven't been forgotten in the small-town setting; class and experiential differences. Mr. Terupt engineers regular visits to the school’s special-needs classroom, changing some lives on both sides. A "Dollar Word" activity so appeals to Luke that he sprinkles them throughout his narrative all year. Danielle includes her regular prayers, and Anna never stops her hopeful matchmaking. No one is perfect in this feel-good story, but everyone benefits, including sentimentally inclined readers. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-385-73882-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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