Battling parental expectations and low self-esteem, a lad finds his bliss in building and learning to play a banjo. Born to unspeakable wealth thanks to his once-poor parents’ invention of a high-tech dental-floss dispenser, Jeremiah leads a thoroughly regimented life—shuttling between his palatial mansion and an exclusive private school, plus a full extracurricular schedule of etiquette instruction, ballroom dancing, painting, golf and, most hated of all, piano lessons. Being mediocre or worse at everything he tries, his life is a misery. But then a chance encounter with a banjo player lights up a fascination with both the instrument and its music. After his pretentious parents strenuously forbid the purchase of such an item, he sets out to make one in secret from a cookie tin and other found ingredients, and then to buckle down and teach himself to play. Tucking basic information about banjo construction and history into his easygoing narrative, Fagan makes his budding musician work realistically hard on his project, eventually achieve some musical chops with support from both adult allies and a smart, free-spirited classmate and finally bring his astonished parents around with an impromptu set of classic folksongs. Occasional spot-art still-lifes done in pen and ink add formal notes to a low-key charmer. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55498-085-7
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An eminently satisfying story of family, recovery, and growing into manhood.
In this prequel to Newbery Award–winning The Crossover (2014), Alexander revisits previous themes and formats while exploring new ones.
For Charlie Bell, the future father of The Crossover’s Jordan and Josh, his father’s death alters his relationship with his mother and causes him to avoid what reminds him of his dad. At first, he’s just withdrawn, but after he steals from a neighbor, his mother packs a reluctant Charlie off to his grandparents near Washington, D.C., for the summer. His grandfather works part-time at a Boys and Girls Club where his cousin Roxie is a star basketball player. Despite his protests, she draws him into the game. His time with his grandparents deepens Charlie’s understanding of his father, and he begins to heal. “I feel / a little more normal, / like maybe he’s still here, / … in a / as long as I remember him / he’s still right here / in my heart / kind of way.” Once again, Alexander has given readers an African-American protagonist to cheer. He is surrounded by a strong supporting cast, especially two brilliant female characters, his friend CJ and his cousin Roxie, as well as his feisty and wise granddaddy. Music and cultural references from the late 1980s add authenticity. The novel in verse is enhanced by Anyabwile’s art, which reinforces Charlie’s love for comics.
An eminently satisfying story of family, recovery, and growing into manhood. (Historical verse fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-86813-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
SEEN & HEARD
A satisfying, winning read.
Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class.
Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick’s chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccer—and, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: “it’s like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life.” The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander’s highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book’s explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable.
A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-57098-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
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