Horticulture pays off for an enterprising teen. If almost-14-year-old Jackson can bring his neighbor’s apple orchard back to life, he can keep any profits over $8,000 and become the owner of the orchard. Because Mrs. Nelson has reneged on promises in the past, this time he insists on a signed and witnessed contract. Of course, Jackson hasn’t the least idea how to grow apples. With a helpful library book, some timely advice, weeks of arduous work and the (mostly) willing assistance of his cousins and sisters, Jackson, with intense determination, attempts to produce a healthy crop, overcoming myriad obstacles along the way. With its 1980s-era rural New Mexico setting, complete with many references to contemporary popular culture, the ambience is that of an earlier time. Jackson tells his own story, at once trusting and skeptical, optimistic and despairing. Hawkins has created an enormously appealing character and an engaging plot. He includes detailed diagrams and perhaps more technical information than absolutely necessary, but readers will root for Jackson to win the day. Surprising and absorbing. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-27977-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
Like Simon, Maya and Penny, readers will find it hard to leave the magical world of Tamarind.
After rescuing their marine-biologist parents from a mysterious island in The Lost Island of Tamarind (2008), feisty siblings Maya, Simon and Penny encounter more amazing adventures as they return to prevent Tamarind’s destruction in this hair-raising sequel.
Since leaving Tamarind four years ago, Maya, Simon and Penny (16, 13 and 5, respectively) have lived quietly in Bermuda with their preoccupied parents, who worry about the Red Coral Project, a phony scientific study intent on ravaging Tamarind to extract the precious mineral ophalla. When Helix, their orphan pal from Tamarind, asks them to sail the Pamela Jane back to the island, Simon, Maya and Penny can’t refuse. Shocked to discover the Red Coral systematically destroying the island, they embark on an arduous quest. Eventually Simon assumes the hero’s role, following obscure clues hidden in three ophallagraphs, leading relentlessly to the Neglected Provinces, the Little Blue Door, the Mumbagua Falls, the Moraine of Lost Loved Ones and, ultimately, to Faustina’s Gate. Here, with Tamarind’s fate in his hands, Simon comes of age, “knowing his purpose is important and clear.” Replete with ecological warnings applicable to real as well as fantasy worlds and glossed with lush descriptions of imaginary flora and fauna, the rapid-fire plot bristles with danger.
Like Simon, Maya and Penny, readers will find it hard to leave the magical world of Tamarind. (map) (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: July 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-312-38030-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Whether it’s because she would rather write stories alone than hang out with her gossiping classmates or because she lives in the Visconti House, a crumbling Italianate villa (which, everyone assumes, must be haunted), Year 8 Aussie Laura Horton always feels like an outsider. When Leon Murphy, a loner in his own right, moves in with his odd grandmother, Laura notices that they have more in common than she originally thought, including wanting to solve the mystery behind Mr. Visconti, his once-ornate house and the woman he loved. Debut author Edgar’s quiet, old-fashioned storytelling, in which the children can sound older than their years, celebrates curiosity, hidden treasures and impromptu gatherings with spirited and creative family members. In the process of ferreting out the secrets of Mr. Visconti and his formerly splendid estate (with written letters, interviews and intuition rather than the Internet), Laura also discovers friendship, romance and accepting the differences in herself and others. Fans of Blue Balliett and Elise Broach’s Shakespeare’s Secret (2005) will enjoy another puzzle to solve. (author’s note) (Mystery. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5019-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
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