PLB 0-06-024867-X A book that celebrates the many notches of cool; although the territory isn’t new, Gorman (Jennifer-the-Jerk is Missing, 1994, etc.) makes sure readers enjoy this lesson in what makes a dork tick. Jerry Flack is a dork, and he knows it; he exhibits all the prime characteristics, from wearing glasses to loving science and getting good grades. When he moves to a new neighborhood, Jerry decides on the lofty goal of becoming cool, but Brenda, for one, sees through his disguise instantly, and offers to give him lessons. He tears his jeans just right, struts just like Gabe and Tony, and gains the attention of the lovely Cinnamon. Cool comes at a price, of course; Jerry has to tell lies frequently, and ignore the fact that Cinnamon is an airhead. The sacrifice he can’t bring himself to make is turning down the chance to be on the science team. It will be no surprise to readers that Jerry is smart enough to realize that his real friend is Brenda, and it’s predictable that the cool kids come over to his side—because this is fiction, and such things happen in books. A funny tale, with a truly in-your-face cover illustration, meant to snag those who care about cool and those who pretend they don’t. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-024866-1
Page Count: 164
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
Themes of freedom and responsibility twine between the lines of this short but heavy novel from the author of Because of Winn-Dixie (2000). Three months after his mother's death, Rob and his father are living in a small-town Florida motel, each nursing sharp, private pain. On the same day Rob has two astonishing encounters: first, he stumbles upon a caged tiger in the woods behind the motel; then he meets Sistine, a new classmate responding to her parents' breakup with ready fists and a big chip on her shoulder. About to burst with his secret, Rob confides in Sistine, who instantly declares that the tiger must be freed. As Rob quickly develops a yen for Sistine's company that gives her plenty of emotional leverage, and the keys to the cage almost literally drop into his hands, credible plotting plainly takes a back seat to character delineation here. And both struggle for visibility beneath a wagonload of symbol and metaphor: the real tiger (and the inevitable recitation of Blake's poem); the cage; Rob's dream of Sistine riding away on the beast's back; a mysterious skin condition on Rob's legs that develops after his mother's death; a series of wooden figurines that he whittles; a larger-than-life African-American housekeeper at the motel who dispenses wisdom with nearly every utterance; and the climax itself, which is signaled from the start. It's all so freighted with layers of significance that, like Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue (2000), Anne Mazer's Oxboy (1995), or, further back, Julia Cunningham's Dorp Dead (1965), it becomes more an exercise in analysis than a living, breathing story. Still, the tiger, "burning bright" with magnificent, feral presence, does make an arresting central image. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7636-0911-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2001
BOOK TO SCREEN
Fans of Cameron’s Huey and Julian stories (More Stories Huey Tells, 1997, etc.) are in for a treat as Gloria, their friend from those tales, gets a book of her own and graciously allows the two brothers to share it . In the first tale, Gloria makes a wonderful card for her mother, but the wind blows it away and it ends up in the cage of a cantankerous parrot. Thanks to Mr. Bates, Huey and Julian’s dad, the day is saved, as is the burgeoning friendship that Gloria and the boys have struck up with new neighbor Latisha in the story, “The Promise.” In another story, Gloria has to deal with a huge problem—fractions—and this time it’s her dad who helps her through it. Mr. Bates proves helpful again when the group trains an “obsessed” puppy, while Gloria’s mother is supportive when Gloria is unintentionally hurt by her three best friends. The stories are warm and funny, as Gloria, a spunky kid who gets into some strange predicaments, finds out that her friends and wise, loving adults are good to have around when trouble beckons. Great fun, with subtly placed, positive messages that never take center stage. (b&w illustrations) (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 9, 2000
ISBN: 0-374-32670-3
Page Count: 93
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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