Heartbreaking yet hopeful.
An emotional portrayal of illness, discrimination, and personal growth.
Seasoned author Sanders makes his middle-grade novel debut with this story set in 1987 and based on real historical events, as three White hemophiliac brothers contract HIV from blood transfusions. Forced to home-school, the family retreats to the beach, away from their small Florida hometown where gossip and fear spread, until a court decision brings the boys back to school. In addition to addressing emotions related to the illness, oldest brother Calvin, a fifth grader, also documents the numerous social battles facing the family as they deal with hostile interpersonal relationships, misinformation and bigotry, and being ostracized by their church. The situation escalates, and the boys continue to be harassed even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sends a representative to intervene and educate the community. Some racial diversity is present in the supporting cast; these characters lack depth and primarily serve to help Calvin realize that the entrenched prejudices of the town’s White majority have harmed others too. As threats escalate, Calvin’s positive relationships with a teacher, a handful of marginalized classmates, and some others challenge him to reckon with his own biases and use his poetry to speak out for justice. The verse format and accessible voice will hold appeal for reluctant readers; the presentation of the subject matter will draw in those who appreciate relationship-driven contemporary and historical stories.
Heartbreaking yet hopeful. (photo credits, playlist, author’s note, timeline, historical note, note about HIV and AIDS) (Verse historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: July 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4788-6927-6
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Reycraft Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay.
Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw feels like he’s been running ever since his dad pulled that gun on him and his mom—and used it.
His dad’s been in jail three years now, but Ghost still feels the trauma, which is probably at the root of the many “altercations” he gets into at middle school. When he inserts himself into a practice for a local elite track team, the Defenders, he’s fast enough that the hard-as-nails coach decides to put him on the team. Ghost is surprised to find himself caring enough about being on the team that he curbs his behavior to avoid “altercations.” But Ma doesn’t have money to spare on things like fancy running shoes, so Ghost shoplifts a pair that make his feet feel impossibly light—and his conscience correspondingly heavy. Ghost’s narration is candid and colloquial, reminiscent of such original voices as Bud Caldwell and Joey Pigza; his level of self-understanding is both believably childlike and disarming in its perception. He is self-focused enough that secondary characters initially feel one-dimensional, Coach in particular, but as he gets to know them better, so do readers, in a way that unfolds naturally and pleasingly. His three fellow “newbies” on the Defenders await their turns to star in subsequent series outings. Characters are black by default; those few white people in Ghost’s world are described as such.
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5015-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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PROFILES
SEEN & HEARD
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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