Overall, Sam’s voice is authentic and her sports talent undeniable, so her existing young fan base may enjoy reading more...
In a homespun style, this autobiography showcases co-author Gordon, a 9-year-old football phenom whose first-season highlight reel became an overnight YouTube sensation.
Sam is charming, from her admiration for her coaches to her continual ability to beat the odds against more experienced competitors. Co-author Bruening allows Sam’s youthful voice to shine in endearing moments, such as her repeated reflections on the free food available at many of the publicity events she has attended. However, Bruening fails to supplement Sam’s recollections with factual information. The conspicuous absence of specific dates makes understanding Sam’s timeline of sports experiences challenging, and few comparisons are included to help non–football enthusiasts (clearly part of the target audience) understand the significance of her football statistics. Additionally, the book merely skims important factors contributing to her success, like her agility training with a former NFL player. Readers of a book subtitled Samantha Gordon’s Winning Season will expect a focus on Sam’s experiences leading up to and during her first football season, but media-appearance memories sometimes dominate. Unfortunately, they often read like celebrity guest lists, a problem compounded by the frequently redundant sidebars.
Overall, Sam’s voice is authentic and her sports talent undeniable, so her existing young fan base may enjoy reading more about her path to fame. (Memoir. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8027-3654-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
Breathless pace can't compensate for murky plotting and uneasy moral underpinnings.
Jason Steed, an 11-year-old Brit who appears to be the next James Bond in the making, returns for his second book (The Fledgling, 2010).
Jason continues his independent role as a secret asset for Scotland Yard, this time going up against the lethal Triads, who are bilking millions of pounds out of an unsuspecting British public. The Triads want to overthrow the Chinese government and take control of the largest nation in the world, just the first step toward eventual global domination. It’s up to Jason to infiltrate the Triads by befriending the criminal son of one of its leaders, which leads him down a path of murder and mayhem he may not be able to pull back from. When his own government betrays him, he’s on the run across Europe, dodging assassins from all sides while trying to save the life of a Chinese girl who could be the key to it all. While this sequel is jam-packed with one action sequence after another (to the detriment of clarity), it has lost the balance of its predecessor. Jason is asked to kill at will, taking out the innocent as well as the guilty with apparently no compunction. The novel takes place in 1974, and it is unlikely that today’s young readers will understand references to Mao or Chinese population control.
Breathless pace can't compensate for murky plotting and uneasy moral underpinnings. (Adventure. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4022-6429-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pure melodrama with stereotypical villains in a circus setting; the appeal of talking animals with dabs of humor from the...
Years ago, stories of boys running away from home to join the circus were popular. This tale turns tail as an indentured boy and “misfit” animals try to run away from the circus.
The title sets up the plot, so readers know what will eventually happen. The misfits are Bertie, 11; Smalls, a long-tongued honey bear; Rigby, a moplike white Komondor dog; Tilda, a white Angora rabbit; and Wombat, a hairy-nosed wombat who’s in love with Tilda. They were acquired by hook and crook by Bertie’s villainous Uncle Claude, the epitome of mean, who gulps cocoa by the urn-full, abuses all of the animals and wants to sell the circus. His two right-hand but wrong-headed men, twins Loyd and Lloyd, cower at every command. There’s even romance, as Bertie is smitten by Susan, who performs a cruelly hand-blistering rope act. Each animal has a distinct personality, and they talk to one another but not to the humans. Even though the “lifer” animals (elephant, lions, monkey, zebra) resent them when the misfits begin to perform, they aid in the fiery finale and escape.
Pure melodrama with stereotypical villains in a circus setting; the appeal of talking animals with dabs of humor from the twin twits make for a good old-fashioned story. (Animal fantasy. 9-11)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59514-588-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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