Returning to the vividly portrayed imaginary medieval world of Jackaroo (1985), Voigt tells of another-innkeeper's daughter, two generations later, who also struggles with her society's rigidity on her way to a self-defined, productive life. By chance, Birle sees a stranger (Orien) taking her father's boat; in trying to retrieve it, she unexpectedly joins him on a long, adventurous trek clown the river—during which they only begin to know each other: she realizes that he is of the nobility, while he is soon depending on her competence for life's necessities. Reaching the sea, they founder on a desolate rock; their "rescuers" sell them as slaves in a foreign city. There, Birle is lucky enough to learn healing herb lore, but Orien suffers the humiliation of the mines, from which he barely escapes with his life. Reunited, they agree to marry and return to their own country and to the difficult choices that still await them. Voigt is a master of pure story; her enthralling narratives are seamlessly interwoven with telling perceptions of human nature. Here, the reader is somewhat distanced from characters who are more symbolic than those in her realistic fiction. Birle's master when she is a slave is a kind but amoral philosopher, brother to a cruel despot; in a parallel crucial to Voigt's theme, Orion abdicates rule to his younger brother, a stern but compassionate judge, choosing for himself a simpler, more creative life. A satisfying love story, a grand adventure, and a rich mix of ideas and action.
Pub Date: March 1, 1990
ISBN: 0689829574
Page Count: 421
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990
Only for dedicated fans of the series.
When a kid gets the part of the ninja master in the school play, it finally seems to be the right time to tackle the closet monster.
“I spot my monster right away. / He’s practicing his ROAR. / He almost scares me half to death, / but I won’t be scared anymore!” The monster is a large, fluffy poison-green beast with blue hands and feet and face and a fluffy blue-and-green–striped tail. The kid employs a “bag of tricks” to try to catch the monster: in it are a giant wind-up shark, two cans of silly string, and an elaborate cage-and-robot trap. This last works, but with an unexpected result: the monster looks sad. Turns out he was only scaring the boy to wake him up so they could be friends. The monster greets the boy in the usual monster way: he “rips a massive FART!!” that smells like strawberries and lime, and then they go to the monster’s house to meet his parents and play. The final two spreads show the duo getting ready for bed, which is a rather anticlimactic end to what has otherwise been a rambunctious tale. Elkerton’s bright illustrations have a TV-cartoon aesthetic, and his playful beast is never scary. The narrator is depicted with black eyes and hair and pale skin. Wallace’s limping verses are uninspired at best, and the scansion and meter are frequently off.
Only for dedicated fans of the series. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4926-4894-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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