From the first sentence of this unusual novel—``A year ago my world was water''—narrated by a half-Irish and half-Tlingit Indian 12-year-old, readers will be drawn to the poetic language, the promise of a compelling plot, and a hint of mystery. Set in the 1940s, the story opens as Clearie's cold and uncommunicative father sends her to Alaska to live for a time with relatives she's never met. Abandoned by her mother at age five, and accustomed to taking care of herself, Clearie quickly decides to remain as ice to a family member who has offended her, and hardly warmer to the rest, who seem to have plans to initiate her into the old Tlingit ways. Clearie acclimates herself and begins to function with those her age, but she also unintentionally becomes embroiled in a dangerous association with the most evil person in the tiny, isolated town. Readers sense danger developing before Clearie does, and also witness the budding romance between her and a town boy, which has its small and old-fashioned but significant joys. Through careful pacing and lyrical writing, Martin (The Stone Dancers, 1995, etc.) effortlessly develops many vital characters, but never neglects Clearie, who adapts, thrives, and finally takes great satisfaction in her ancestral identity. A suspenseful page-turner as well as a joyous exploration of a unique world in a remote setting. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-590-36087-6
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1997
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
This profoundly moving story is all the more impressive because of its basis in fact. Although the story is fictionalized, its most harrowing aspects are true: “Today, more than two hundred million children between the ages of five and seventeen are ‘economically active’ in the world.” Iqbal Masih, a real boy, was murdered at age 13. His killers have never been found, but it’s believed that a cartel of ruthless people overseeing the carpet industry, the “Carpet Mafia,” killed him. The carpet business in Pakistan is the backdrop for the story of a young Pakistani girl in indentured servitude to a factory owner, who also “owned” the bonds of 14 children, indentured by their own families for sorely needed money. Fatima’s first-person narrative grips from the beginning and inspires with every increment of pride and resistance the defiant Iqbal instills in his fellow workers. Although he was murdered for his efforts, Iqbal’s life was not in vain; the accounts here of children who were liberated through his and activist adults’ efforts will move readers for years to come. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85445-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2003
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