Heartwarming and humorous, a solid pick for young teen readers.
In this YA novel, a teenage girl learns life lessons about parents, puppies and puppy love.
Thirteen-year-old Julia, the protagonist of Ferguson Powers’ debut novel, is a pleasantly familiar archetype of young adult fiction: a girl on the cusp of adolescence who is precociously intelligent but, socially, a late bloomer. With her father serving overseas in the International Peace Forces and a workaholic mother who repeats the mantra “avoiding problems is better than having to solve them,” Julia devotes most of her time to her 8-year-old sister, Belinda, and when she can, observing wildlife to write about in the detailed log she maintains. The action starts with the arrival of a Portuguese water dog named Portia, whom the girls’ father has sent as a gift. When their mother leaves for a months long business trip, Julia and Belinda, with Portia in tow, go to spend the summer with their grandparents on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. In a series of episodic (and somewhat formulaic) adventures, the sisters train Portia, contend with bullying and get into plenty of trouble, all with the help of a neighbor boy, Mister Blue, whom their grandparents have encouraged them to befriend. Mister Blue, who is even shyer and stranger than Julia, ruffles her feathers at first—and the fact that his mother has recently died while serving in the National Guard does nothing to assuage her overwhelming worry about her father’s dangerous job. As their friendship deepens, however, Julia discovers that some people just may be as interesting as animals. Though Ferguson Powers’ writing is simple and declarative, her characters are three dimensional, and she uses the close third-person perspective to clever ends; when Julia meets Mister Blue, for instance, she reflects: “Probably he liked machines; most boys did.” Blunt and theatrical Belinda—who says aloud to her dolls at one point that “Julia worries enough for everybody”—is an especially funny character.
Heartwarming and humorous, a solid pick for young teen readers.Pub Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615547145
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Whidbey Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 6, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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