During the Great Depression, Mary Francis’s family is split up when her mother wants to hang onto her dreams of showbiz success for little brother Leland, and her father is afraid not to take a job across the country. In the tug-of-war between fears and dreams, Mary Francis takes a cue from her spiritualist relative, great-aunt Nora, and practices separating herself mentally from her body in times of stress. Unlike most Depression fiction, this family is not facing poverty, but there is no extra and the economy affects their choices. The move of Mary Francis, her grandmother, and her father to New England—leaving her mother and brother behind in Beverly Hills—is made without much consideration of the daughter. The constant bickering of the adults plays out as Mary Francis tries to adjust to a new school, neighborhood, and climate as well as a new home. There’s a comic tone to this drama. Mary Francis gets excited about the band at school only to be disappointed that an accordion is not regarded as a regular instrument. Attending an advertised séance disappoints in the spirits’ failure to respond helpfully. When Grandma massacres her hair, Mary Francis endures the joking at school in an out-of-body state until she finds herself able to return to earth and bear the kidding. In that isolation that children feel when the adults are otherwise occupied, it becomes logical that getting her own talent recognized is paramount. Mary Francis decides to play the accordion while on rollerskates at a talent contest in a hilarious but poignant scene. Well-rounded characters, a myriad of details grounding the story in time, and the emotional angst add up to entertaining historical fiction, with a contemporary feel. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-05603-3
Page Count: 244
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2001
A satisfying, winning read.
Nick Hall is a bright eighth-grader who would rather do anything other than pay attention in class.
Instead he daydreams about soccer, a girl he likes, and an upcoming soccer tournament. His linguistics-professor father carefully watches his educational progress, requiring extra reading and word study, much to Nick’s chagrin and protest. Fortunately, his best friend, Coby, shares his passion for soccer—and, sadly, the unwanted attention of twin bullies in their school. Nick senses something is going on with his parents, but their announcement that they are separating is an unexpected blow: “it’s like a bombshell / drops / right in the center / of your heart / and it splatters / all across your life.” The stress leads to counseling, and his life is further complicated by injury and emergency surgery. His soccer dream derailed, Nick turns to the books he has avoided and finds more than he expected. Alexander’s highly anticipated follow-up to Newbery-winning The Crossover is a reflective narrative, with little of the first book’s explosive energy. What the mostly free-verse novel does have is a likable protagonist, great wordplay, solid teen and adult secondary characters, and a clear picture of the challenges young people face when self-identity clashes with parental expectations. The soccer scenes are vivid and will make readers wish for more, but the depiction of Nick as he unlocks his inner reader is smooth and believable.
A satisfying, winning read. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-57098-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
It’s great to see these kids “so enthusiastic about committing high treason.” (historical note) (Historical fiction. 10-12)
Near the end of World War II, two kids join their parents in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler.
Max, 12, lives with his parents and his older sister in a Berlin that’s under constant air bombardment. During one such raid, a mortally wounded man stumbles into the white German family’s home and gasps out his last wish: “The Führer must die.” With this nighttime visitation, Max and Gerta discover their parents have been part of a resistance cell, and the siblings want in. They meet a colorful band of upper-class types who seem almost too whimsical to be serious. Despite her charming levity, Prussian aristocrat and cell leader Frau Becker is grimly aware of the stakes. She enlists Max and Gerta as couriers who sneak forged identification papers to Jews in hiding. Max and Gerta are merely (and realistically) cogs in the adults’ plans, but there’s plenty of room for their own heroism. They escape capture, rescue each other when they’re caught out during an air raid, and willingly put themselves repeatedly at risk to catch a spy. The fictional plotters—based on a mix of several real anti-Hitler resistance cells—are portrayed with a genuine humor, giving them the space to feel alive even in such a slim volume.
It’s great to see these kids “so enthusiastic about committing high treason.” (historical note) (Historical fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-35902-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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