Though Philip Pullman did it earlier and funnier with I Was a Rat! (2000), this take still feels fresh enough, despite...
A new “Cinderella” retelling includes the perspective of a rat living in her home.
Chapters alternate narration between Char, the titular Rat Prince, and Cinderella. Though Char initially believes Cinderella is an idiot, allowing abuse from her stepmother and stepsister, it’s soon apparent to him and to readers that Cinderella is shrewd and biding her time. When Char discovers that Cinderella is to attend a royal ball where the human prince will choose a bride, he investigates at the palace, hoping to learn that the prince is worthy of her (he’s not). Meanwhile, Cinderella unwittingly summons her family’s goddess, who plays the fairy-godmother role, with Char arriving on scene just in time to be transformed into a human footman. Much occurs in the short span of hours of the ball, including Cinderella’s falling in love with the transformed Char (almost instantly) and the goddess playing deus ex machina, fixing all problems (save one) in a fairy-tale–tidy ending. The cover illustration of Char, a black rat (Cinderella calls him “Blackie”), is lit in such a way that readers may mistakenly perceive light fur; Cinderella’s lovingly described physical attributes—her blonde hair, pale skin, and oft-praised “tiny” waist—play into tired and damaging tropes. Still, Cinderella is fairly empowered for a damsel in distress.
Though Philip Pullman did it earlier and funnier with I Was a Rat! (2000), this take still feels fresh enough, despite misgivings. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30213-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Year-round fun.
Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”
This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”
Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories.
Percy Jackson takes a break from adventuring to serve up the Greek gods like flapjacks at a church breakfast.
Percy is on form as he debriefs readers concerning Chaos, Gaea, Ouranos and Pontus, Dionysus, Ariadne and Persephone, all in his dude’s patter: “He’d forgotten how beautiful Gaea could be when she wasn’t all yelling up in his face.” Here they are, all 12 Olympians, plus many various offspring and associates: the gold standard of dysfunctional families, whom Percy plays like a lute, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with a more sardonic air. Percy’s gift, which is no great secret, is to breathe new life into the gods. Closest attention is paid to the Olympians, but Riordan has a sure touch when it comes to fitting much into a small space—as does Rocco’s artwork, which smokes and writhes on the page as if hit by lightning—so readers will also meet Makaria, “goddess of blessed peaceful deaths,” and the Theban Teiresias, who accidentally sees Athena bathing. She blinds him but also gives him the ability to understand the language of birds. The atmosphere crackles and then dissolves, again and again: “He could even send the Furies after living people if they committed a truly horrific crime—like killing a family member, desecrating a temple, or singing Journey songs on karaoke night.”
The inevitable go-to for Percy’s legions of fans who want the stories behind his stories. (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8364-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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