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HUNGRY BONES

Spooky and intriguing, with plenty of heart.

A 13-year-old girl’s paranormal abilities lead to an emotional journey with a resident ghost.

Chinese American Molly Teng and her free-spirited mom have already moved eight times. While her mother always rallies her to support Team Teng, homebody Molly is resentful about leaving Maine for Buckeye Creek, Texas, and yet again becoming “the weird girl who’s an easy target.” Molly and Mom move into an old house that comes complete with an attic-dwelling spirit named Jade who’s over a century old. At first, Jade’s excited—Molly is sensitive to her presence and Asian like she is. For her part, Molly initially decides to ignore Jade, until her presence becomes impossible to overlook. As their friendship grows, so does Molly’s resolve to help Jade figure out her past before she fades away. Molly’s abilities include what she calls “the zaps,” the energy-sucking pull she experiences from the overwhelming memories contained in some inanimate objects. Knowing the toll the zaps take on Molly, Jade hesitates to expose her to something physical belonging to her. Hung artfully integrates Chinese American history and present-day racism into a story that explores themes of belonging. Molly longs for stability and community while also being acutely aware of being “the Asian Girl” who’s a perpetual outsider. While the book has a few loose ends that may frustrate attentive readers, its compelling twists and fast pace keep the interest level high.

Spooky and intriguing, with plenty of heart. (Paranormal. 9-13)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024

ISBN: 9781338832587

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024

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THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the School for Good and Evil series , Vol. 1

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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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.

Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020

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