"Why can't changes ever be good?" As recorded in the pages of her diary, a 14-year-old's life takes on a decidedly soapy cast in this uneven debut. Kristin frets about the sudden, late development of her body, and watches her friends trying to grow up too fast: meanwhile, her beloved older brother David, mangled in the Vietnam War, lies in the attic, severely depressed and dying slowly. David's constant, haunting presence (Kristin usually refers to him as "the ghost") and family money problems has her parents' marriage on the rocks. To top it all off, she has a bad case of adolescentitis, manifested as an adversarial relationship with her mother and a great fondness for words like "gross" and "pathetic." Happily, Kristin's mordant sense of humor, plus a serious search for meaning in life that takes her from Camus and Simone de Beauvoir to the confessional (where she receives not platitudes but refreshingly unconventional comments from the priest) and a Unitarian church, save this from turning into another whiny teenage diatribe. Easton delivers some messages—teenage sex, as described by Kristin's friends, comes across as uncomfortable and a bit silly—but neither they, nor David's eventual death, will make readers feel sandbagged. Try this on fans of Naylor's "Alice" books, or Judy Blume's novels for tweens. (Fiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83134-X
Page Count: 208
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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