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WE WILL BE CRASHING SHORTLY

Name: WE WILL BE CRASHING SHORTLY
Author: Hollis Gillespie
ISBN: 978-1-4405-6770-4

From the Unaccompanied Minor series , Vol. 2

by Hollis Gillespie ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2015

Despite turbulence, an amusing airline-industry thriller that informs as it entertains.

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The sequel to Unaccompanied Minor (2014) delivers another round of in-the-air shenanigans for would-be airline heiress April Mae Manning.

Gillespie starts her story in medias res, as April explains to readers that she may have shot Mr. Hackman, but she did not decapitate him. She quickly flashes back to her driver's-license road test, which is derailed when she sees her best friend, Malcolm, in the middle of being kidnapped by, among others, her no-good stepfather. In short order, April and the good-hearted crew of adults she rallied in her first outing are busy finding corpses, running from the law, and stowing away on the very L-1011 that was bombed only a few months before. The plot setup here is convoluted and sporadic, the introduction of new characters adding variety but also complexity that impedes focus. April's voice continues to charm, her dedication to the wisdom within the WorldAir flight-attendant onboard manual a throughline that both binds the story together and saves April's skin over and over. Her surveys of flight-attendant history are trenchant and illuminating, as in her discussion of 1960s-era "secret spawning wards...full of [pregnant] stewardesses trying to keep their circumstances on the down-low so they could retain their jobs."

Despite turbulence, an amusing airline-industry thriller that informs as it entertains. (Thriller. 12-16)

Pub Date: June 15, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-4405-6770-4

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Merit Press

Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER

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THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER

by Ben Philippe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2019

Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.

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A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.

Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.

Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)

Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

- SEEN & HEARD
Alicia D. Williams, David Yoon on Shortlist for William C. Morris Award for YA Debut

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NEVER FALL DOWN

by Patricia McCormick ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2012

Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...

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A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.

The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.

Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)