Spooky, funny, and queer—what’s not to love?
Monsters lure a human and their cat on a spirit realm rescue mission.
Born with the “freaking terrifying” ability to see spirits—and monsters—nonbinary 12-year-old River Rydell is cursed. Nobody believes them, least of all about the giant bug monster living under their bed. Enter Avery, the popular girl who gives River “strange butterflies in their stomach” and just might be their first real friend. Getting closer to someone unfortunately confirms River’s worst fears when a monster abducts Avery and takes her to The Otherwoods. River follows, with cat Mr. Fluffy Pancakes in tow. Uncountable dangers lurk in the realm of “monsters and never-quite-alive beings.” But can River brave it all with the help of a teenage ghost named Xavier—including facing their own self-doubt—to get the girl? Winans’ middle-grade debut is an otherworldly, atmospheric tale of self-actualization despite a doomed destiny. Gigantic animal-hybrid monsters and cryptic messages consistently up the ante. River’s winning personality and their playful friendship with Xavier alleviate the tension with humor. River and Xavier are both white; Avery is described as having a Mexican mom and American dad. Multiple characters are queer. The ending hints at a sequel while also keeping the story arc neatly contained.
Spooky, funny, and queer—what’s not to love? (Horror. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781547612543
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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