Caitlin, 13, treasures the intimacy of an annual camp-out alone with her sister. This time, she's devastated to discover that Pam is giving all her attention to a young man she met during her first year at college. Pam has arranged to meet Alex at the museum commemorating the disastrous Hinckley, Minnesota, fire of 1894. When he shows up just after she's seen the museum film, Caitlin has a terrifying vision of the fire and hears the desperate cries of an orphan boy who died in it. Neither Pam nor Alex gives her story credence; but after days of becoming more at odds with Pam, and of repeated glimpses of the oddly dressed ``Frank''—who she's forced to admit is the orphan's ghost after she rides a bike through him—Alex confesses that he, too, has been plagued by the persistent spirit, who's now seeking comfort elsewhere because Alex is preoccupied with Pam. The prospect that Frank will haunt her forever grows more appalling when Caitlin realizes (after finding him in a toilet stall she'd planned to use) that he wants to be with her every second; in the end— unwittingly but courageously—she sets him to rest by her response to his cries. In Bauer's capable hands, the ghost story receives added depth from its interaction with present-day characters. Each sister is hurt by the other's unwillingness to hear about recent changes in her life; Frank makes an intriguing manifestation of their frustration. Well crafted and entertaining. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-64341-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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