Compellingly conveys the experience of living with an invisible, stigmatized disability.
Moving and changing schools frequently has allowed fourth grader Austin to conceal his inability to read—and prevented him from getting help.
Austin’s a large kid (repeating second grade didn’t help): shy, socially awkward, but quietly observant. Changing schools isn’t easy, but he’s learned what to expect, what’s expected of him, and how to handle it. Initially unresponsive when Bertie—a small, friendly classmate—appoints herself his guide, he slowly warms to her and the school while hiding his inability to decode letters that wave and wobble across the page. His ingenious workarounds include querying the “phone lady” (digital assistant) on his mom’s old phone, who answers questions and gives him a link to the audiobook he’s supposed to read. At school Austin’s especially impressed by the Safety Squad, a select cadre of fifth graders. Bertie encourages him to join. But how can he complete the application without disclosing his disability? While self-contained Austin projects the stoic resignation of children who’ve learned not to depend on adults, his troubled mom never comes into focus; how she supports them and why they move so frequently go unexplained. The parameters of Austin’s disability (or disabilities) are unclear. If his backstory is frustratingly thin, however, Austin himself is a fully realized character whose predicament, true and false assumptions, and choices ring true from beginning to end. Characters mostly present White; naming conventions suggest a diverse classroom.
Compellingly conveys the experience of living with an invisible, stigmatized disability. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-101-93294-0
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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