Emily, 14, last seen in Rubin's Emily Good as Gold (1993), has fallen in love with a ``regular'' boy named Hunt, and is afraid that he'll find out she's ``different''—retarded. Her friend, Molly, reports that boys like girls who are honest and sincere, but it's hard for Emily, in her first year in a mainstream school, to tell the truth to someone who smiles at her the way Hunt does. Molly's route to ``normal'' is by reading Seventeen faithfully, putting together the right clothes and makeup, and holding her and Emily's first boy-girl party. When it backfires, Emily's feelings get hurt, but other problems are mounting, too: She has to juggle a job and a date with Hunt, and suffers new worries about her brother and sister-in-law's move, old worries about standing up to her overprotective parents, and guilt that she has treated another special student, Donny, as meanly as others have treated her. Rubin gets inside Emily, allowing readers to see things through her eyes, and, in the first-person narration, to grasp her frustration at being slow. Emily may be somewhat literal-minded, but she's bristling with spunk. A surprisingly sweet, unusual story of first love. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-15-200961-2
Page Count: 156
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1997
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
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
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