The title says it all: Lewin—one of the best illustrators working in children's books—got his start as a wrestler. Sid Lewin, his short father, had three tall sons to whom roughhousing and body building were a way of life. When Ted's older brother Donn came back from WW II, he got into pro wrestling to make a living; when Ted (who'd been going to matches and practicing moves with younger brother Mark) needed money for art school in 1952, Donn helped him get started. Lewin doesn't explain the wrestling world—where the money came from, who was making it; and he doesn't say much about rules of the sport, though his descriptions of moves and matches are graphic. What he does do, in these vivid vignettes, is depict a close-knit world of men who were mixed and matched from makeshift rings to Madison Square Garden, where they assumed roles and played crowds that could be as dangerous as any opponent (he mentions riots and knifings). The telling glimpses of the sport, the men, and their camaraderie are fascinating; comically described family scenes and dozens of photos round out the picture. Grouped in a color insert, Lewin's powerful paintings of wrestlers are more introspective, revealing the compassion he's brought to picture books like Sami and the Time of Troubles (1992) and offering a tantalizing taste of what's not said here. (Are these recent? One would like to know.) A compelling memoir. Glossary of ``Wrestling Lingo'' and ``Holds.'' (Autobiography. 11+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-531-05477-2
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1993
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
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