Philosophy and fantasy mingle with mixed results.
Life and Death’s annual game leaves a girl’s life in the balance as magical realism meets other-world fantasy in this novel set in Oaxaca.
Eleven-year-old Clara’s destiny is forever changed when a small silver thread, borne on a breeze, marks her in a game between Life and Lady Death, who prefers to be called Catrina. Unbeknownst to Clara, the mysterious happenings around her are being dictated by the cards in a game of Lotería. The sudden loss of her aunt seems an especially cruel twist of fate, but when her grieving younger cousin disappears into the night, she knows it is up to her to save him. Though the story begins in the Latin American tradition of magical realism, it veers into full fantasy when Clara crosses through the mysterious portal into Aztlán. Aztlán presents as a Mesoamerican fantasy realm based loosely on the mythic home of the Aztecs, with echoes of Oz, Wonderland, and Narnia. It’s full of challenges to be faced as Clara tries to locate and rescue her cousin. All along, Life and Catrina play their cards and debate over free will. Does Clara have any choice in what happens next, or is all that transpires simply fate? Though the metaphors are often stretched and the philosophical debates can grow tiresome, there is enough mystery to keep readers going. The end is abrupt and bittersweet, not unlike life. Exquisite illustrations greatly enhance the text.
Philosophy and fantasy mingle with mixed results. (author's note, reader's guide) (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-17696-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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