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THE WINTER PLACE

Name: THE WINTER PLACE
Author: Alexander Yates
ISBN: 978-1-4814-1981-9

by Alexander Yates ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 27, 2015

A thoroughly original tale with plenty of appeal for older middle-graders through teens.

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Reeling from their widowed father’s sudden death, Tess and Axel are whisked from rural Baldwin, New York, to Helsinki by Jaana, the stern Finnish grandmother they’ve just met, to live in their grandparents’ tiny condo—a prospect dismaying to all, including the children’s long-dead mother, who has her own agenda.

While young teen Tess and Jaana engage in a battle of strong wills, Axel, 10, has other worries. Like his grandfather Otso, an otherwise healthy wheelchair user, and his mother, Alex has a rare form of muscular dystrophy with an uncertain prognosis. Saara died giving birth to him, and Axel himself is in fragile health. Lately, he’s been haunted by a wheelchair only he can see and that follows him everywhere. That’s not all. Tess also saw the bear and the Keeper back in New York, but Axel doesn’t know how to convince her the bear is their mother, who’s set them a difficult task. Style and characterization are strengths, along with diverse, evocative settings, including Baldwin, a seedy trailer in Florida, Finnish cottage country, and the magical path connecting them. The plot becomes confusing when realistic elements increasingly clash with Kalevala-infused fantasy. While the point of view alternates between both kids, Axel is the center of gravity; his choices increasingly drive the action until the startlingly abrupt ending.

A thoroughly original tale with plenty of appeal for older middle-graders through teens. (Fantasy. 11-16)

Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4814-1981-9

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2015

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FAMILY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

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by Alexander Yates

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MOONDOGS
by Alexander Yates

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HOLDING SMOKE

by Elle Cosimano ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 3, 2016

Intertwined spectral and real worlds deliver double the thrills.

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Leaving his actual body behind in prison, Smoke can move through the world as a ghost in this fantastic yet real portrait of a survivor seeking answers.

John “Smoke” Conlan has survived a brutal beating from his father, a murder conviction, and prison life. His uncanny ability evidently triggered by the beating, Smoke exists inside and outside the fictional Greater Denver Youth Offender Rehabilitation Center (unrealistically represented as a maximum security prison). Smoke keeps his physical body protected on the inside thanks to the balance of favors earned outside his body. On one such errand, he discovers that a young waitress at a seedy dive can actually see him. Smoke’s vivid present-tense narration is filtered according to his concerns. He insists that he is innocent of killing his favorite teacher but guilty of killing a fellow student in self-defense, keeping readers teetering between a belief that the punishment is justified and cheering Smoke on to fight for freedom. The narrative’s romance is chaste, and it tempers the intensity brought to the story by the threats of guards, fellow inmates, and outside criminals. Though the complex plot is based on an impossible premise, readers will be flipping the pages, watching the diverse cast (Smoke is white) race toward the climax.

Intertwined spectral and real worlds deliver double the thrills. (Paranormal suspense. 11-16)

Pub Date: May 3, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4847-2597-9

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
FINLAY DONOVAN ROLLS THE DICE
by Elle Cosimano

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FINLAY DONOVAN JUMPS THE GUN
by Elle Cosimano

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FINLAY DONOVAN KNOCKS 'EM DEAD
by Elle Cosimano

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RED, WHITE, AND WHOLE

by Rajani LaRocca ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 2, 2021

An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss.

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It’s 1983, and 13-year-old Indian American Reha feels caught between two worlds.

Monday through Friday, she goes to a school where she stands out for not being White but where she has a weekday best friend, Rachel, and does English projects with potential crush Pete. On the weekends, she’s with her other best friend, Sunita (Sunny for short), at gatherings hosted by her Indian community. Reha feels frustrated that her parents refuse to acknowledge her Americanness and insist on raising her with Indian values and habits. Then, on the night of the middle school dance, her mother is admitted to the hospital, and Reha’s world is split in two again: this time, between hospital and home. Suddenly she must learn not just how to be both Indian and American, but also how to live with her mother’s leukemia diagnosis. The sections dealing with Reha’s immigrant identity rely on oft-told themes about the overprotectiveness of immigrant parents and lack the nuance found in later pages. Reha’s story of her evolving relationships with her parents, however, feels layered and real, and the scenes in which Reha must grapple with the possible loss of a parent are beautifully and sensitively rendered. The sophistication of the text makes it a valuable and thought-provoking read even for those older than the protagonist.

An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss. (Verse novel. 11-15)