Looking for a place where he and his cat can stay, a Seattle boy treks to San Francisco in this ingenuous cautionary adventure from Kehret (Small Steps, 1996, etc.). Behind in the rent, and with the car about to be repossessed, Spencer's mother decamps in the middle of the night, finding temporary refuge for herself and Spencer across town, at Aunt May's. She tells them that Spencer's cat, Foxey, has to go; desperate to keep him, Spencer forces him into a box and heads for San Francisco on a stolen bike, hoping to find his father. Kehret has an agenda, but she makes her points indirectly: Spencer experiences more discomfort than danger (although he is robbed by other runaways), and acts in ways he knows are wrong, from theft to hitchhiking. Foxey is far more troublesome than the hazards of the trip, and Spencer's efforts to keep his terrified pet from running off come close to mistreatment. They arrive in San Francisco by chance—retired carpenter, Hank Woodworth, pays Spencer's bus fare and takes Foxey in temporarily. Spencer finds his father, and Hank dies, leaving Spencer a college trust fund and ready cash for his mother. It's a distressingly tidy resolution, but Spencer's impulsive escapade may give readers infatuated with the notion of running away some second thoughts. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-525-65256-6
Page Count: 149
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1997
A solid debut: fluent, funny and eminently sequel-worthy.
Inventively tweaking a popular premise, Jensen pits two Incredibles-style families with superpowers against each other—until a new challenge rises to unite them.
The Johnsons invariably spit at the mere mention of their hated rivals, the Baileys. Likewise, all Baileys habitually shake their fists when referring to the Johnsons. Having long looked forward to getting a superpower so that he too can battle his clan’s nemeses, Rafter Bailey is devastated when, instead of being able to fly or something else cool, he acquires the “power” to strike a match on soft polyester. But when hated classmate Juanita Johnson turns up newly endowed with a similarly bogus power and, against all family tradition, they compare notes, it becomes clear that something fishy is going on. Both families regard themselves as the heroes and their rivals as the villains. Someone has been inciting them to fight each other. Worse yet, that someone has apparently developed a device that turns real superpowers into silly ones. Teaching themselves on the fly how to get past their prejudice and work together, Rafter, his little brother, Benny, and Juanita follow a well-laid-out chain of clues and deductions to the climactic discovery of a third, genuinely nefarious family, the Joneses, and a fiendishly clever scheme to dispose of all the Baileys and Johnsons at once. Can they carry the day?
A solid debut: fluent, funny and eminently sequel-worthy. (Adventure. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-220961-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Georgina and younger brother Toby begin a homeless life living in Mom’s car, having been evicted when Dad leaves. Mom tries her best to work two minimum-wage jobs in order to make the security deposit for a new apartment while the kids struggle daily to maintain normalcy in and out of school. Desperate to help Mom gain some significant cash, Georgina concocts a grand scheme to steal a dog, dupe the owner into offering a $500 reward and then return the designated pooch for the cash. As crazy as this sounds, O’Connor weaves a suspenseful and achingly realistic story, fleshing out characters that live and breathe anxiety, fortitude and a right vs. wrong consciousness. Colorful, supporting roles of a wise, kind vagrant and a lonely, overweight dog owner round out this story of childhood helplessness, ingenuity and desolation. Georgina’s reflections in a secretly kept “how-to” journal will have kids anticipating her misconceptions about the realities of theft and deception. A powerful portrayal from an innocently youthful perspective. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 6, 2007
ISBN: 0-374-33497-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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