Well-drawn, sympathetic characters and the developing spark between Amy and Craig combine to create a pleasant, satisfying...
In a first-person voice that doesn’t always quite ring true, Amy describes the events of the spring in which she begins a transformation into young adulthood.
Eighth-grader Amy is growing up in a coastal Maine village in 1973; she is shy, unpopular and self-focused. In two gradually developing relationships, she is befriended by a spunky elderly woman, Miss Cogshell, known to many as “Old Coot,” and by Craig, the tough-guy son of an abusive, alcoholic single mother. Craig is struggling in school and at home, so when he takes on care of an injured seal pup, he’s pushed to the brink and turns to Amy for help. Since it’s illegal to take in wildlife, the pair must keep “Pup” hidden while they raise him; Miss Cogshell becomes a willing participant, keeping the seal in her home while also gently reaching out to both unhappy teens. But Miss Cogshell is not well, and eventually the young pair must get their emotional support from each other, something they are at first unable to do. At times, Amy’s voice feels more authorial than authentic (“A rush of freedom outweighed the feel of coarse ground against my palms”), but debut author Strykowski gains competence as she progresses and lets Amy speak more clearly.
Well-drawn, sympathetic characters and the developing spark between Amy and Craig combine to create a pleasant, satisfying read. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-935462-76-7
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Luminis
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A skillful sequel that adds new layers to a coming-of-age story.
In this follow-up to Ghetto Cowboy (2011), 14-year-old Cole convinces his mother to let him stay in Philadelphia with his father and beloved horse, Boo, instead of returning to Detroit.
Cole and his dad, Harper, are still learning to navigate their father-son relationship after years of being estranged. As they figure out their new arrangement, Harper says Cole has to get a job to help earn his keep as well as Boo’s. Working as a stable hand at a nearby military academy, Cole meets young cadets who are strikingly different from him in socio-economic class and attitudes—and who seem to have it out for him from the start. Fortunately, Cole also meets and befriends Ruthie, a Black girl on the polo team who shares his love for horses. She is in a minority at the school due to her race and sex; the friendship offers mutual support. While working there, Cole develops a growing attraction to Ruthie as well as an interest in possibly attending the academy someday. But is this world just too different from his own for him to even get a foot in the door? And is he ready to leave everything he’s known behind? In this entry, Neri gives readers a look into another type of equestrian life while maintaining the tone and style readers appreciated in Cole’s cowboy journey, including an evocative voice and situational code-switching. Final illustrations not seen.
A skillful sequel that adds new layers to a coming-of-age story. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0711-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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