Spooky, melancholy, elegiac and ultimately hopeful; a small gem.
A middle-grade fantasy dons the cloak of a creepy ghost tale to deliver bittersweet meditations on the nature of friendship, the price of growing up and the power of storytelling.
The lifelong friendship of Zach, Poppy and Alice revolves around their joint creation, an epic role-playing saga of pirates and perils, queens and quests. But now they are 12, and their interests are changing along with their bodies; when Zach’s father trashes his action figures and commands him to “grow up,” Zach abruptly quits the game. Poppy begs him to join her and Alice on one last adventure: a road trip to bring peace to the ghost possessing her antique porcelain doll. As they travel by bus and boat (with a fateful stop at the public library), the ghost seems to take charge of their journey—and the distinctions between fantasy and reality, between play and obligation, begin to dissolve....Veteran Black packs both heft and depth into a deceptively simple (and convincingly uncanny) narrative. From Zach’s bitter relationship with his father to Anna’s chafing at her overprotective grandmother to Poppy’s resignation with her ramshackle relations, Black skillfully sketches their varied backgrounds and unique contributions to their relationship. A few rich metaphors—rivers, pottery, breath—are woven throughout the story, as every encounter redraws the blurry lines between childishness and maturity, truth and lies, secrecy and honesty, magic and madness.
Spooky, melancholy, elegiac and ultimately hopeful; a small gem. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6398-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
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 TO SCREEN
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism.
A summer spent summiting the Adirondacks allows a teenager to reckon with grief.
Thirteen-year-old Finn Connelly’s summer is off to a rocky start. In addition to several incomplete class assignments—including a poetry project about heroes—he’s facing vandalism charges after an angry outburst at the local cemetery. To avoid paying thousands in fines that his family can’t spare, he reluctantly agrees to the proffered alternative: climbing all 46 Adirondack peaks over 4,000 feet by Labor Day accompanied by Seymour, the enthusiastic dog who belonged to the woman whose headstone he damaged. As Finn attempts the hikes, he wrestles with what it means to be a hero, a term often used for his deceased father, a local hockey legend, New York City firefighter, 9/11 first responder, and paramedic who died on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic. This verse novel is engaging and easy to follow. It encompasses varied structures, like haiku, sonnet, and found poetry. Other ephemera, such as letters, recipes, and school progress reports, create visual breaks evocative of a commonplace book. The first-person narration vividly conveys a disgruntled teenager’s feelings, including moments of humor and contemplation. The novel wrestles with loss and legacy intertwined with weighty events, challenges, and themes—PTSD, alcoholism, toxic masculinity—and their resulting impact on Finn’s emotional well-being. The supporting characters are encouraging adult role models. Characters present white.
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781547616398
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
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