Sweet and full of heart.
When his mom lands a new job, Héctor Muñoz leaves San Francisco—and his best friends and beloved neighborhood—for a town near Sacramento.
The Mexican American 12-year-old starts Orangevale Middle School with optimism, hopeful that new friends will appreciate his flair for fashion and confident that he will find fellow musical theater–obsessed peers. His optimism wanes when he finds out there is no drama club or theater program; Ms. Heath, the head of school security, seems to have targeted him for harsh discipline; and the Table of Misfits, a ragtag group of outsiders, is the only place for him to sit at lunch. Matters get worse when Mike, a relentlessly homophobic bully, and his so-called Minions target Héctor. When a janitor’s closet magically appears whenever and wherever Héctor most needs to hide, he finds a respite from the bullying. The room not only offers him safety, it also connects him to other outsiders who find their ways there from their own schools when they need escape: Black and Chinese Juliana from South Carolina and Filipino and White Sal from Arizona. With compassion and humor, Oshiro creates a fantastical scenario that holds deeper implications for three outsiders who face struggles as queer and biracial youths. Reading this heartwarming blend of realistic fiction and fantasy, young people will appreciate Héctor’s brave and earnest quest for happiness and belonging set among a richly diverse cast of characters.
Sweet and full of heart. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300810-6
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Eminently readable and appealing; will tug at dog-loving readers’ heartstrings.
A loquacious, lovable dog narrates the challenges of shelter life as he longs for a home.
Friendly three-legged Chance is the perfect guide to Dogtown, a shelter that houses both warmblooded and robot dogs. In fact, she’s “Management’s lucky charm,” roaming freely without being confined to a cage and leaving kibble for her mouse friend. Life is pretty good. But she still yearns for reunification with her family and, like many of the living pups, harbors suspicion of her robot counterparts, who are convenient and more easily adoptable but lacking in personality. When Metal Head, an oddly engineered e-dog, bonds with a child during a shelter reading program, Chance’s assumptions about heartless robot dogs are upended. As Chance connects with Metal Head, the two make a brief escape into the wider world, and Chance learns a familiar lesson: Everyone longs for a place to belong. Memories of Chance’s happy home loom large in her mind: Easy days with the Bessers, a sweet Black family, were disrupted by a neglectful dogsitter, the accident that cost Chance her leg, and Chance’s flight in search of safety. Chance’s chatty narrative style includes flashbacks, vignettes about fellow shelter pets, and thoughtful observations, for example, about the “boohoos,” or sad new arrivals. The story offers many moments of laughter and reflection, all greatly enhanced by West’s utterly charming grayscale illustrations of irresistible pooches.
Eminently readable and appealing; will tug at dog-loving readers’ heartstrings. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9781250811608
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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