Molly writes about the summer she's 14 in a handsomely bound journal, a gift from her difficult best friend Vicky. Quick to take offense, at odds with her divorced mother, jealous of their new friend Grace (a visitor to their Massachusetts island), Vicky even twists news of Molly's first period into a slight—and then exacts a promise that she won't tell her own nice mom. Still, Molly is loyal; the two have always been close, and though she chafes at Vicky's goading she's too uncertain of herself to rebel. Fond of a boy who broke up with her after a single kiss, she's also attracted to Vicky's brother, who used to babysit them; she has just discovered Toni Morrison's novels and seems to be drifting away from her parents, who are mystified at having such a bookish daughter (Dad's a landscaper); she covers her developing body with voluminous clothes and stops eating. In the end, discovering that Vicky betrayed her by secretly reading her journal sets Molly free: Jolted into a more mature sense of herself, she choses high school courses that are best for her, not Vicky, and gets her eating habits in order. If she ever accepts Vicky again, it will be on her own terms. There's more than ample detail here to delineate this uneasy friendship, yet each incident is telling and almost painfully realistic. Vail (Do-Over, 1992) not only likes and respects her young characters; she knows them inside out. An unusually immediate portrayal of a thoughtful teen finding her balance among her peers while making peace with her own capabilities. (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-531-06838-2
Page Count: 166
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1994
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
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