This strong debut, set in a small Pennsylvania town where local sports rule, pits a senior wrestler against both a close friend and the prospect of a dead-end, beer-and-factory-work future. Ben and Al have been friendly rivals for years, but as school's end looms, new tension enters their relationship: Al is being groomed for a shot at the state championship; Ben, discovering that he wants something for himself besides the role of second stringer, is coming closer and closer to beating him in practice. Ben also yearns to escape the claustrophobic confines of life in a one-street town, though he realizes that ``it's a pit only the strongest crawl out of.'' He tells his story in a spare way appropriate to his undemonstrative, nonverbal nature, recording fast and furious wrestling action, the steady burn of his own anger and frustration, and brief but telling glimpses of the people around him—especially of his loving but even less demonstrative father, a factory worker and part-time burglar. In the end, Ben gets not what he wants, but what he needs, losing the qualifying match to Al by one point, and falling for Kim Chavez, a beautiful classmate who knows him better than he knows himself. The young characters here, male and female, are all athletes, but not stereotyped jocks, and Wallace limns the pleasures and limitations of small-town culture with a sure hand. (Fiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: June 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-679-87803-3
Page Count: 133
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1996
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
Death isn’t an easy subject to write about, but Shusterman handles it deftly, as he explores what happens to two children who are “lost” on their way “towards the light.” Nick and Allie have never met, but both are involved in a fatal car accident. They find they are neither living nor spirit; they now exist in Everlost. Learning to cope with their new state of being, they arrive in New York City, where a band of lost children have taken up residence in the Twin Towers, which still stand tall in Everlost. Led by Mary, the Queen of Snot, threatened by the Great McGill and his pirate band, these children have come to accept that this is where they belong and will always be. But Nick and Allie know there must be something—somewhere—else, and they are determined to find out what and where that is. A quirky sense of humor pervades, which helps to lighten what would otherwise be a disturbing concept. But the overall message (that there is existence after life and purpose to that existence and a destination when one is finally ready for it) is one of comfort. For anyone who has lost a friend or loved one at an early age, this is a good read. (Fiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-689-87237-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2006
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