A perceptive, poignant tale of self-discovery.
An autistic girl weathers a summer of changes.
Thirteen-year-old Maudie McGinn is desperately looking forward to leaving Houston and spending the summer with her dad in Molinas, California. Unlike Mom, a YouTube influencer who exploits Maudie’s autism, Dad doesn’t treat her like she’s helpless or berate her for having meltdowns or panic attacks. And unlike Ron, her stepfather, he doesn’t erupt in rages or leave bruises on her arms. But when a wildfire forces them to evacuate, Maudie and Dad find themselves scraping by in Conwy, Dad’s hometown on the Mexican border. It’s overwhelming, especially when Maudie’s secret burns inside her alongside Mom’s and Ron’s demeaning words, like incapable and ridiculous. If she tells Dad about Ron’s abuse, though, she could be taken from her family altogether; Mom said so. But as Maudie makes friends, including Paddi, a bubbly girl with ADHD, and Etta, an easygoing woman who teaches her to surf, she wonders: Is keeping secrets good? Is she stronger than she thinks? Through Maudie’s earnest, occasionally poetic narration, Pla vividly explores the ways that physical and verbal abuse can distort self-perception. Notably, she illustrates how pressure to comply with neurotypical authority figures can complicate self-advocacy. Though Mom’s ableism is less firmly addressed than Ron’s abuse, Dad, who’s also neurodivergent, provides a compassionate counterpoint by consistently reaffirming Maudie’s self-worth. Most characters read White; Dad’s mom was from Venezuela, and Paddi is cued South Asian.
A perceptive, poignant tale of self-discovery. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 9780063268791
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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