Ultimately, this important topic deserves a more in-depth exploration than this brief, albeit thoughtful, effort offers.
A shy sixth-grader learns to speak out against prejudice when her community rushes to judge an unusual teacher.
Minnie is new to the school; her family has downsized since her father lost his job after objecting to an employee’s unfair treatment. Minnie's newly minted teacher, Miss Marks, whose jeans and T-shirts, multiple ear piercings, tattoo and rumored lesbianism immediately raise eyebrows, captivates her language arts class with her unique teaching style. She's thoughtful and wise, challenging the class to think objectively, especially about prejudice. Minnie observes growing bias against not just Miss Marks, but also her new Muslim friend, Amira, but she’s torn between remaining safely unobtrusive or taking a stand for what’s right. Her Uncle Bill, an amputee war veteran, provides just the right nudge to Minnie as he begins to take control of his life. While Minnie’s character is well-developed, others are painted with a frustratingly broad brush. Astute readers may wonder why Minnie’s mother makes such a rush to judgment, facilely dismissing her daughter's opinion, and why there is such a sharp, seemingly swift response against a largely effective teacher. Some side stories lack sufficient development: that of a classmate who's abruptly withdrawn from school and another about a possible breach of Miss Marks’ privacy at home by older students.
Ultimately, this important topic deserves a more in-depth exploration than this brief, albeit thoughtful, effort offers. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-374-32496-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2012
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
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BOOK TO SCREEN
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story.
Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she’ll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.
While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school’s preoccupation with swimming—from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can’t swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel’s bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree’s deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor—a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans’ relationship with swimming—who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school’s swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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