Wise and wonderful, this is the archetypal Hero’s Journey laced with gentle satire.
A hero’s tale set in an alternate world.
Living on a tiny island in an unnamed world that is an archipelago in space instead of an ocean, Gemma and her younger brother Martin have seen only two other people for the majority of their lives—their 120-year-old great-great-great aunt Peggy and her nearest neighbor. That is, until Peggy decides she has taught them everything she knows and it is time to take them to boarding school on City Island—a long and potentially dangerous journey. The three set out in Peggy’s sky-runner and encounter along the way various folks who just so happen to bear caricatural resemblances to modern-day types, whether it be the Toll Troll, the rabid, red- and blue-clad soccer fans, or the heartbreaking child soldier. Each encounter adds to the education of Gemma and Martin and possibly to that of readers as well. The adventure is narrated in turn by Peggy, Gemma and Martin, and each is pitch-perfect in its respective age and outlook. Never confusing or overbearing, the story mixes adventure with commentary—but so skillfully and humorously done that it rarely seems didactic. The cover, alas, does not do this book justice.
Wise and wonderful, this is the archetypal Hero’s Journey laced with gentle satire. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: May 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62873-593-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2014
A thought-provoking title for sophisticated readers.
A missing boy returns from another world. Will anyone believe his story?
When 12-year-old Aidan goes missing, his family and community members search everywhere in their small town. Things progress from worrying to terrifying when Aidan doesn’t turn up. No note. No trace. Not even a body. Six days later, Aidan’s younger brother, Lucas, finds Aidan alive in the attic they’d searched many times before. Aidan claims he was in a magical world called Aveinieu and that he got there through a dresser. While everyone around the brothers searches for answers, Lucas gets Aidan to open up about Aveinieu. Lucas, who narrates the story, grapples with the impossibility of the situation as he pieces it all together. Is any part of Aidan’s story true? YA veteran Levithan’s first foray into middle grade is a poignant tale of brotherly love and family trauma. The introspective writing, funneled through a precocious narrator, is as much about what truth means as about what happened. Though an engaging read for the way it makes readers consider and reconsider the mystery, the slow burn may deter those craving tidy resolutions. Bookish readers, however, will delight in the homages to well-known books, including When You Reach Me and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The cast defaults to White; the matter-of-fact inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters is noteworthy.
A thought-provoking title for sophisticated readers. (Mystery/fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-984848-59-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
Compassionate and compelling.
Sixth grade cousins learn to navigate complicated family dynamics.
Cal came to live with Hannah and her parents nearly 15 months ago. The two share a mean-spirited, alcoholic grandmother; their Italian heritage; and red hair. Hannah, a gymnast and dancer, has enjoyed stability, attention, and affection from her parents. Cal’s life has been filled with the loss of his mother at age 9 followed by a period of abuse and neglect by his now-imprisoned father. Cal suffers from PTSD and a defensive kind of vigilance while Hannah resents that Cal’s peculiar behavior makes him a target at school. Brief chapters in the first-person voices of Cal and Hannah reveal their divergent personalities. Imaginative Cal describes the world in terms of “Fact or Fiction,” his statements and answers offering sometimes wryly ambiguous observations of his experience. Practical and more certain of herself, Hannah’s poems with the header “Definition” are a jumping-off point for sharing glimpses into a more physically and emotionally privileged childhood. Hopkins’ use of free verse provides a canvas for sure-handed, brush-stroke development of the backstory and plot and emotional investment and identification with the characters. A school lockdown and shooting at the climax of the story allow Cal to demonstrate his new ability to connect with others and to see the ways that kindness can come back around.
Compassionate and compelling. (author's note) (Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-10861-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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