paper 0-590-37453-2 Prickly, unlovable Morgan narrates the third book in Vail’s Friendship Ring trilogy (If You Only Knew,1998, not reviewed), presenting what amounts to an autobiography in flashback as she waits nervously to be called on in class. The assignment for seventh-grade Creative Writing was to bring ten self-defining items to class in a paper bag; too late, Morgan realizes that she will have to explain each item’s meaning. She has gathered tokens of embarrassingly personal meaning: a St. Christopher medal, a spatula, a Barbie doll’s head, a box of candy, a twig, and more. Every one recalls a seismic incident in her life, from her father’s departure to shifts in her relationships with friends, boys, and her mother; everyone gives readers a key to unlocking Morgan’s tough defenses to reveal the vulnerability beneath. For all her anger and mean behavior, she doesn’t lack for courage, and in the end acquits herself well enough in front of friends and classmates to earn a rare nod of approval from a fearsomely demanding teacher. Readers drawn by the previous books, or the series’ eye catching, CD-size format, won’t exactly like Morgan, but they will end up admiring her. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-590-03476-6
Page Count: 216
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato.
The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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