A neglected child's supernatural defenders turn against her in this brooding fantasy, set in modern Wales. Dinah's mother, Rosalie, has a new paramour: wealthy, ruthless Gomer Gwynne, who parks the two in a decrepit, overgrown mansion—just for a while, he says. Savvy beyond her 11 years, Dinah sees how much Gomer wants her out from underfoot, but a lifetime of being unwanted has toughened her, and the chance, however quixotic, of having a settled home prompts her to dig in her heels. She finds unexpected help on a visit to town; animated by her fierce wishes, some of the wild animals carved on a stone wall follow her home, to lurk menacingly in the shadows outside, harassing and attacking Gwynne at her command. When she tries to leave the house on Christmas Day, however, she suddenly finds them ranged against her. Nimmo (The Witches and the Singing Mice, 1993, etc.) tests her smart, strong-minded protagonist with a series of challenging situations, a powerful enemy, dangerous magical servants, and a trio of would-be allies: a battered old tomcat and two schoolmates able to see past her brusque exterior. The story has a dark, mysterious tone, but ends on a bright note: Gwynne's glib promise of marriage seems a thin prize for Rosalie, but it frees Dinah to find a home at last with a loving, just-discovered great-grandfather. A well-told story with unusually strong characters. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-531-30006-4
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor’s Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist’s triumphant debut. Sparked by a chance comment of her mother’s, a harried assistant editor for a (surely fictional) children’s imprint, Natalie draws on deep reserves of feeling and writing talent to create a moving story about a troubled schoolgirl and her father. First, it moves her pushy friend Zoe, who decides that it has to be published; then it moves a timorous, second-year English teacher into helping Zoe set up a virtual literary agency; then, submitted pseudonymously, it moves Natalie’s unsuspecting mother into peddling it to her waspish editor-in-chief. Depicting the world of children’s publishing as a delicious mix of idealism and office politics, Clements squires the manuscript past slush pile and contract, the editing process, and initial buzz (“The Cheater grabs hold of your heart and never lets go,” gushes Kirkus). Finally, in a tearful, joyous scene—carefully staged by Zoe, who turns out to be perfect agent material: cunning, loyal, devious, manipulative, utterly shameless—at the publication party, Natalie’s identity is revealed as news cameras roll. Selznick’s gnomic, realistic portraits at once reflect the tale’s droll undertone and deftly capture each character’s distinct personality. Terrific for flourishing school writing projects, this is practical as well as poignant. Indeed, it “grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.” (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82594-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
“Hear, and listen well, my friends, and I will tell you a tale that has been told for a thousand years and more.” It’s not exactly a rarely told tale, either, though this complete rendition is distinguished by both handsome packaging and a prose narrative that artfully mixes alliterative language reminiscent of the original, with currently topical references to, for instance, Grendel’s “endless terror raids,” and the “holocaust at Heorot.” Along with being printed on heavy stock and surrounded by braided borders, the text is paired to colorful scenes featuring a small human warrior squaring off with a succession of grimacing but not very frightening monsters in battles marked by but a few discreet splashes of blood. Morpurgo puts his finger on the story’s enduring appeal—“we still fear the evil that stalks out there in the darkness . . . ”—but offers a version unlikely to trouble the sleep of more sensitive readers or listeners. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7636-3206-6
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
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