by Erin Silver ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 7, 2020
Insufficiently exaggerated for farce, insufficiently plausible for anything else.
A class livestreaming assignment creates both humiliations and new friendships for 12-year-old Simon.
For Grade 7 technology class, Simon’s required to do a livestream on a shared platform. Students who create “engaging content”—that is, those students who get lots of likes and comments by their classmates—will get the better grades. Simon, who is White, wants an A, as his constantly fighting parents have promised as a reward for good grades to take him to the Canadian Video Game Championships; he secretly hopes they’ll reconcile on the trip. His best friend, Jocelyn, who is Filipina, wants to get an A in order to be allowed to continue her mixed martial arts training. It feels to Simon as though his plans to create engaging content are cursed. In a series of accidental livestreams (of increasingly dubious probability), Simon streams his dog playing with his mother’s underwear, a mortifying toilet incident, pet mouth-to-mouth, and worse. Weirdly, every video makes Simon more popular thanks to the unintentional comedy. Everything goes awry when Simon’s teacher, at the behest of the private company that owns the video app, changes the grading guidelines for the class (inexplicably presented as a normal educational choice). Suddenly, Jocelyn and Simon are no longer allies. And Simon needs allies, for though the school’s a “no-bullying zone,” the teachers are oblivious to the violent bullies who target Simon—even when they livestream the violence for their own course assignments. Video games and slapstick poop jokes can’t salvage this haphazard plot.
Insufficiently exaggerated for farce, insufficiently plausible for anything else. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-988761-54-1
Page Count: 135
Publisher: Common Deer Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
Share your opinion of this book
More by Erin Silver
BOOK REVIEW
by Erin Silver ; illustrated by Hayden Maynard
BOOK REVIEW
by Erin Silver ; illustrated by Suharu Ogawa
BOOK REVIEW
by Erin Silver ; illustrated by Michelle Theodore
by Renée Watson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed.
On a birthday trip to New York City, a girl learns about her roots, Harlem, and how to stay true to herself.
Eleven-year-old sneakerhead Amara is struggling to feel seen and heard. A new baby sister is on the way, her mom still wants to put her in dresses, and that birthday trip from the Portland, Oregon, suburbs to New York City that she so desperately wants feels out of reach. When Amara gets a family-history assignment, she is finally able to convince her mom to say yes to the trip, since it will allow Amara to meet her dad’s side of the family in person. In addition to the school project, her mom gives Amara a secret mission: get her dad and grandpa to spend time alone together to repair old wounds. Harlem proves unlike any place Amara has ever been, and as she explores where her father grew up she experiences black history on every street. Watson is a master at character development, with New York City and especially Harlem playing central roles. Through her all-black cast she seamlessly explores issues of identity, self, and family acceptance. Although the ending feels rushed, with no resolution between Amara and her mom, Amara’s concluding poem is powerful.
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68119-108-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More by Renée Watson
BOOK REVIEW
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Bea Jackson
BOOK REVIEW
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Ekua Holmes
BOOK REVIEW
by Renée Watson ; illustrated by Andrew Grey
by Alan Gibbons ; illustrated by Chris Chalik ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024
Simplistic, but a straight shot on goal.
Despite poor first impressions, an aggressive new student earns a spot as goalkeeper on the local soccer team.
Loud, pushy new arrival Shane definitely seems to come with an attitude problem in this simple tale, told from the perspective of one of Shane’s teammates and originally published in 2021 in the U.K. A few days later, however, the source of the chip on his shoulder becomes clear when the North Park Juniors take the pitch. When Shane shows up to play, his bossy, verbally abusive stepfather, Mick, is in tow, screaming orders and insults from the sidelines. The story, which is printed with what the publisher calls “dyslexia-friendly fonts and paper tones,” is laid out with extra spacing between the short sentences and paragraphs. The author also takes multiple breaks to examine historical feats and foibles of renowned goalies of the past. The plot goes on to follow a fairly direct course. After the police haul Mick away in the wake of a chair-throwing tantrum, a more emotionally stable Shane shows up the following weekend to perform heroic exploits in a hard-fought climactic match. Physical descriptions in the text are minimal; young players and adults in Chalik’s frequent illustrations are woodenly drawn but feature a mix of light- and dark-skinned faces.
Simplistic, but a straight shot on goal. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781454954842
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Anthony McGowan ; illustrated by Staffan Gnosspelius
More by Alan Gibbons
BOOK REVIEW
by Alan Gibbons
BOOK REVIEW
by Alan Gibbons
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.