Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




School's Out! YA Books About Summer (page 2)


Cover art for MEXICAN WHITE BOY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 12, 2008

"Though not an out-of-the-park follow-up to 2005's Ball Don't Lie, de la Peña blends sports and street together in a satisfying search for personal identity. (Fiction. YA)"
Angry with his Caucasian mother and feeling removed from his Hispanic heritage, 16-year-old Danny decides to spend the summer with his father's relatives in an attempt to re-forge his identity. Read full book review >
Cover art for GIRL AT SEA
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2007

"An iceberg of a romance in the vein of Sarah Dessen. (Fiction. YA)"
According to the text in this complex, near-ethereal exploration of a teen girl's inner awakenings, 17-year-old closed-mouthed Clio has quite a history behind her, including world travel, a bestselling video game named Dive! and a strange tattoo. Read full book review >
Cover art for DRAMARAMA
CHILDREN'S
Released: May 1, 2007

"Exhilarating. (Fiction. YA)"
A star-struck girl plunges into the crazed world of summer drama camp and tries to cope with friends, love and jealousy in this intense romp through the world of musical theater. Read full book review >
Cover art for EMILY GOLDBERG LEARNS TO SALSA
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 1, 2006

"Despite Emily and Lucy being well-defined, Ostow pays little attention to other characters, who fade into the well-drawn Puerto Rican setting. (Fiction. YA)"
Growing up in an affluent New York suburb, Emily Goldberg didn't mind not knowing about her mother's Puerto Rican childhood, but when her family travels to Puerto Rico for her grandmother's funeral, Emily's ignorance is compounded as she is bombarded by unfamiliar relatives, foreign customs and a language she can barely decipher. Read full book review >
Cover art for TALE OF TWO SUMMERS
CHILDREN'S
Released: June 1, 2006

"And, where they can bandy ideas back and forth in an unflinching manner without worrying they'll offend each other. (Fiction. YA)"
Two best friends, Hal and Chuck, spend their first summer apart. Read full book review >
Cover art for NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (AND A FEW WHITE LIES)
CHILDREN'S
Released: April 1, 2006

"Great voice from a very promising debut. (Fiction. YA)"
A tumble of words flows out of Patty Ho as she tries to figure out how to be 15, and half white, half Taiwanese, hapa, says her buddy Jasmine, the "Asian-ator." Read full book review >