In a witty, touching first novel, 15-year-old Justine Trainor's borderline nerd image is pushed to the limit when Justine spends time with new neighbor Mike Lombardo, an eighth grader who shares her passion for avant-garde movies. Justine's mom encourages her friendship with Mike's gorgeous airhead sister Heather, but as Mike points out, ``no one I could like could possibly like my sister. Lombardo's Law.'' Still, Justine agrees to a disastrous double date with Heather and her boyfriend and falls into a boring relationship with a boy at school, just to appear ``normal.'' When the two screen buffs decide to produce a video spoofing 2001: A Space Odyssey, the local cable station airs it, their budding talents are recognized, and they're forced to acknowledge their attraction to each other. Deft characterization (of even minor players like Mike's agoraphobic mother and Justine's oversolicitous parents) and a breezy style recalling Brock Cole's Celine contribute to a well-crafted story in a voice that's true to the emotional confusion of adolescence while maintaining a light touch; literary and cinematic references add interest without detracting from the central theme of first love. All will cheer when Mike proclaims, after a rotten second-floor railing lands him on the ground with Justine praying he hasn't been killed, ``A fall from a balcony deserves a kiss...Lombardo's law.'' (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-65969-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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