Educational and encouraging.
A Louisiana seventh grader copes with a rare, progressive disease.
Gymnast Kate Lovejoy should feel elated after winning a gold medal in a meet, but a persistent shoulder ache dims her happiness. Downplaying her pain, she blames her tears on her dog’s recent death. But soon, the pain becomes too agonizing to ignore, and eventually, Kate is diagnosed with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, a genetic disorder in which muscles and connective tissue turn to bone. Because physical impacts can trigger flare-ups, doing gymnastics is no longer feasible. Her fellow gymnasts and Girl Scouts aren’t sure how to act around her, and Kate’s reluctance to disclose her diagnosis threatens her relationship with best friend Mindy. Kate has many fears: What if she’ll require a wheelchair or need help with toileting? Fortunately, she’s surrounded by supportive family and corresponds with a mentor, Amie—a self-insert of co-author Specht, who also has FOP. Kate and Amie’s conversations simultaneously explore worries and challenges and offer reassurance and resources. As Kate gradually gains confidence, she discovers the perfect topic for her English essay on changing the world. Authors’ notes explain that Kate’s story is drawn from Specht’s life, and it shows. Though the dialogue is occasionally somewhat stilted and the pacing slightly uneven, Kate’s fear, loss, and anger are vividly portrayed, and others’ awkward or ableist reactions ring painfully true. Kate and her family read white; secondary characters are racially and socioeconomically diverse.
Educational and encouraging. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593619469
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
Joyfully captures an all-consuming passion for an intriguing niche interest.
Puzzle cubes challenge a cast of determined contenders in a tense national competition.
Twelve-year-old Tyler Gooden loves solving his Rubik’s Cube. After his dad died three years ago, he felt adrift until he found this gift from his father, set aside years before. The mental aerobics and motor dexterity that cube-solving required gave him a sense of focus. So begins the story of Tyler’s determined journey to the national championship, sponsored by Cube-Mania. He can’t afford to attend, but Cube-Mania founder and CEO Victor Chen recognizes his “remarkable ability” and offers a surprise sponsorship. As the competition begins, Tyler meets a crew of fellow cubers, including “cubing prodigy” Eli Newton and his overbearing dad, twin sensations Lizzy and Izzy Peterson, world record holder Dirk Speedman, and the elderly Miles Wizzinski, the first great cuber of the 1980s, whose efforts have resulted in carpal tunnel syndrome. The story’s slightly stilted present-tense language will make readers feel as though they’re reading the novelization of a competition documentary (think The Speed Cubers or the Scrabble-focused Word Wars). Gamers’ backstories combine with play-by-play scenes of puzzles being solved, shocking twists, and some well-earned victories. Colorful graphic novel panel interludes bring to life the drama of gameplay—it’s hard to look away from this delightfully hyperfocused tale. Most characters present white; Tyler is of Filipino descent, the Peterson twins are Black, and Victor Chen is cued Asian.
Joyfully captures an all-consuming passion for an intriguing niche interest. (Fiction/graphic hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593531907
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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