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JADE RIVERA SAVES THE PRESIDENT

A real winner featuring comic adventures with a serious undercurrent.

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When the president of the United States is kidnapped by suburban extremists, it’s up to two 12-year-old girls to foil their plans in this humorous middle-grade novel.

Jade Rivera and Katerina “KK” Kaminsky have been friends almost since they were born in the same Phoenix hospital. Both have immigrant parents; Jade’s are from China and Mexico, and KK’s from Russia. On a camping trip to nearby Superstition Mountain, a federally protected wilderness, the two girls hike alone toward some ruins; Jade notices an ancient saguaro cactus that’s been illegally cut down, revealing a mine entrance. Could it be the legendary Lost Dutchman’s Mine, said to contain a fortune in gold? As the girls investigate, they happen upon the bound and gagged U.S. president, who had been giving a speech nearby. He’s been taken prisoner by members of a group called the Suburbanites for Expansion, whose ransom demand is to “develop this wilderness into a suburban paradise.” Now prisoners themselves, the girls formulate a plan: Jade will pretend to be a Native American who speaks little English, and KK will pretend to translate for her. The bumbling yet still dangerous SFE members know nothing about local plants and animals, but the girls draw on a trove of facts and advice that their well-informed grandmothers gave them and put them to good use. In her debut, Robinson writes a hilariously comic adventure that incorporates solid information about Arizona’s real-life Superstition Mountain, its ecology and Native American history, and wilderness survival. Her young heroines are resourceful, spirited, and clever, and their attention to their grandmothers’ knowledge and wisdom pays off in several important ways, helping them find nonpoisonous food to eat and treat a reptile bite. A warm sense of family connection and an appreciation of immigrants’ diverse cultures underlie the story. The villains are cartoonishly exaggerated, but they also reference real issues, such as the fact that once-protected wilderness areas are increasingly threatened by developers. Debut illustrator David’s black-and-white drawings enliven the story, capturing the girls’ resolve and the villains’ absurdity. (A free study guide is available via email.)

A real winner featuring comic adventures with a serious undercurrent.

Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2018

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 176

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: April 5, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

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JUPITER STORM

In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.

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A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.

Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.

In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0

Page Count: 212

Publisher: Plum Street Press

Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018

BROTHERS IN ARMS

BLUFORD HIGH SERIES #9

A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.

In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.

In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.

A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004

ISBN: 978-1591940173

Page Count: 152

Publisher: Townsend Press

Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013

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