A moving, realistic coming-of-age tale.
In a companion to Firegirl (2006), Abbott turns his attention to Jeff, who was the obnoxious, bullying best friend of the earlier book’s protagonist, Tom.
Jeff, now in eighth grade and at a different school, is struggling to deal with the issues caused by his single mom’s alcohol problems. His father, who left to live with a girlfriend, provides little in the way of financial help and even less emotional support. After his mom loses her job, their lives believably spiral downward. They are evicted, leading to a series of overnight stays in increasingly unpleasant circumstances that finally culminate in a frigid night in the car and then a move to a shelter. Jeff is determined to keep his situation a secret, but Hannah, a sensitive classmate, begins to suspect. When help does eventually appear, it’s from an unexpected source: Tom, whom Jeff has avoided since their falling out in seventh grade. What elevates this effort above so many other inadequate-parent tales is Jeff himself. It’s because he’s a tough kid to like: His first-person narration reveals that he’s angry, quick to judge, and eager to mouth off or push back against any show of kindness. It’s only when the obstacles become insurmountable that he matures enough to distinguish between his friends’ compassion and the pity he despises. Abbott uses naming conventions and cues such as hairstyles to hint at race in this diverse environment; Jeff and his family present white and Hannah, black.
A moving, realistic coming-of-age tale. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-47969-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
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
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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