Deeply cathartic; balances emotional depth with engrossing suspense.
With his brother off at college, Jasper, an autistic, white, transgender boy, feels more alone than ever—until a saber-toothed tiger that’s buried in his backyard starts speaking to him.
The whole summer, Jasper’s older brother, Callan, promised to take him fossil hunting, but Callan was always busy seeing friends or playing the guitar and video games. Maybe if Jasper had just gone by himself, he wouldn’t have gotten so angry that he broke Callan’s laptop, but now it’s too late. The day after Callan leaves, eighth grader Jasper starts digging a hole in his backyard, hoping to unearth a discovery, but he’s startled when he hears the voice of a saber-toothed tiger in his mind. At first, Jasper is excited and determined to help his new tiger friend, who understands him in a way no one else does, but Jasper soon struggles to hide his overwhelming exhaustion and the growing hole in his backyard. Jasper’s understanding of friendship evolves as he opens up to several peers who bring broadly diverse representation to the story. Gow’s skillful use of spacing and line length in this verse novel adds visual dimension to Jasper’s emotions, which take on a tangible external force through the saber-toothed tiger and the conflict that arises from unearthing him. The author explores the complexity of anger—honoring its validity without dismissing accountability for one’s actions—in a way that’s artful and immersive.
Deeply cathartic; balances emotional depth with engrossing suspense. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9781419777387
Page Count: 328
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Concisely captures big, serious ideas about life and relationships.
An eighth grader in Greenwich Village finds solace in a kindred spirit during turbulent times.
Emily has loved books ever since leaving the orphanage in China to live with her white adoptive parents. But now that she’s been forced to move to Chien-Shiung Wu School (“named for a physicist who… // …was a total badass”), reading is a lifeline. Losing touch with her best friends and the scariness of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic are bad enough. Even worse: Almost everyone at her new school speaks Cantonese and is already learning Mandarin. It’s just Emily and a few white and Black kids who are beginning speakers. Her family expects her to feel grateful for a chance to “get in touch with her roots.” Instead she feels exposed, embarrassed by her lack of cultural and linguistic knowledge. Amid her loneliness, she discovers Emily Dickinson, whose poems help her process complicated feelings about adoption, loss, race, and belonging. There’s also a mysterious connection between the two Emilys—could Dickinson’s ghost be guiding Emily to open up to new possibilities like making friends? Many readers will find this verse novel’s approach to Dickinson’s poems illuminating: They’re riddles to be solved, presented alongside contemporary Emily’s rephrased passages. Insights from adults in Emily’s life offer wisdom that readers may find thought provoking, although they may wish for some humor to offer occasional reprieve from the heavy themes.
Concisely captures big, serious ideas about life and relationships. (books and art referenced) (Verse fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567012
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Make Me a World
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Thirteen-year-old love at its finest.
Two seventh grade Boston girls meet in poetry club, fall in love, fight, and find their way back to each other in this verse novel.
Even though “Love at First Sight is not a thing,” Olivia and new girl Eden quickly become friends and then more. But Eden, whose mom has left and whose dad is homophobic, wants to keep their relationship secret. Eden also becomes part of a tightknit group of girls she names the Crash. After one of their parties, Olivia hurls a misogynistic slur at Eden and breaks up with her. Regretful, Olivia later comes up with a scheme to win Eden back: a poetry night where she will perform a poem of apology. Both girls are largely without supportive adult guidance—Olivia’s mother has depression, and her avoidant dad works long hours—so they make mistakes and correct them as best they can, relying on poetry, music, and friends to fill in the gaps. Their personalities shine through their beautifully crafted poems, full of aches, worries, and joys. Three final poems, set a few months later, provide a coda and some closure. Olivia’s poems are aligned left, Eden’s are aligned right; drafts of Olivia’s apology poems appear on lined paper in a spiral-bound notebook. Both girls are coded White; Olivia’s best friend is trans.
Thirteen-year-old love at its finest. (Verse fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9780063256941
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
