Personal growth plus the comedy of sundry humiliating situations created to avoid embarrassment: satisfying.
It can’t be that difficult to sabotage your own bat mitzvah.
Ellie’s shy, quiet, and afraid of interacting with almost everyone but her family and her only friend, Zoe. At older sister Hannah’s bat mitzvah, Ellie had such a panic attack about appearing before strangers that she thought she was dying. Now she’ll do anything to prevent her own bat mitzvah from happening—anything, that is, except tell her parents. Ellie (white and Jewish) harangues Zoe (black and Christian) into a series of increasingly goofball attempts to stealthily deep-six the bat mitzvah. From hiding the invitations to faking her own death, Ellie’s shenanigans result in cringe comedy that (despite the embarrassment of the situations she creates) is always respectful of her devastating anxiety. The light touch leads to some too-easy solutions, with Ellie, at 12, effectively self-inventing cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorder before anyone else even knows she has a condition. Ellie’s concern with her own mental health finds her selfishly ignoring Zoe’s well-being, and working through the complications created by her unthinking cruelty requires getting through more anxiety spirals about damaged friendships. Humor keeps the tone light, nevertheless, perhaps never more so than in a massive and squishy food fight at a classmate’s bar mitzvah.
Personal growth plus the comedy of sundry humiliating situations created to avoid embarrassment: satisfying. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-62120-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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