Multilayered, moving, and tremendously powerful.
Three years ago, Danny Timmons witnessed young Jack Bailey rescue two little girls from floodwaters while adults stood by, too afraid to help.
Now it’s 1943, and Danny is describing his sharp observations of wartime life in the Appalachian town of Foggy Gap. Unlike his hero, Jack, Danny, almost 13 and a victim of persistent, merciless bullying, sees himself as weak and helpless. But Jack has a difficult home life with a damaged, abusive father. Danny’s parents offer Jack, now nearly 16, help and comfort, and he becomes Danny’s friend, mentor, and protector, especially after Danny’s dad goes to war. Jack helps him gain confidence and wistfully shares stories his mother told him about a perfect, peaceful place called Yonder. Danny is devastated when Jack suddenly disappears, and, in trying to find answers, he discovers that Jack has deep-seated fears that cause him to make an irrevocable, life-changing decision. Danny’s perceptions change as he recalls his mother’s insights and wisdom concerning ugly cruelties perpetuated in his town: People are ostracized, tormented, and even driven away through prejudice, hatred, and war-related distortions. Danny carefully guides readers through nonlinear developments utilizing flashbacks, each time viewing events more clearly and deeply. Danny’s narration is direct, with unassuming humility as he matures. His voice is true, strong, loving, and hopeful, and readers will recognize him as a hero in his own right. Most main characters are White.
Multilayered, moving, and tremendously powerful. (author’s note, historical notes, discussion questions) (Historical fiction. 10-16)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-298568-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay.
Castle “Ghost” Cranshaw feels like he’s been running ever since his dad pulled that gun on him and his mom—and used it.
His dad’s been in jail three years now, but Ghost still feels the trauma, which is probably at the root of the many “altercations” he gets into at middle school. When he inserts himself into a practice for a local elite track team, the Defenders, he’s fast enough that the hard-as-nails coach decides to put him on the team. Ghost is surprised to find himself caring enough about being on the team that he curbs his behavior to avoid “altercations.” But Ma doesn’t have money to spare on things like fancy running shoes, so Ghost shoplifts a pair that make his feet feel impossibly light—and his conscience correspondingly heavy. Ghost’s narration is candid and colloquial, reminiscent of such original voices as Bud Caldwell and Joey Pigza; his level of self-understanding is both believably childlike and disarming in its perception. He is self-focused enough that secondary characters initially feel one-dimensional, Coach in particular, but as he gets to know them better, so do readers, in a way that unfolds naturally and pleasingly. His three fellow “newbies” on the Defenders await their turns to star in subsequent series outings. Characters are black by default; those few white people in Ghost’s world are described as such.
An endearing protagonist runs the first, fast leg of Reynolds' promising relay. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5015-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
PROFILES
SEEN & HEARD
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK TO SCREEN
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