Weisskoff’s debut middle-grade novel takes newly orphaned Mia through raw grief and custody battles with gentleness and skill.
“How’s this for a birthday present?” asks 12-year-old Mia, whose day with her artsy Grandpa Ron is supposed to end with her parents’ taking her and BFF Samantha out for sushi. Instead, a phone call shatters her life—a car accident has killed both her parents. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Mia struggles with school and her future. She’d rather stay with her widowed grandfather in Oakland, Calif., but her mother’s folks, Alan and Ilene, want her to live with them in New York City. Complicating matters further, her Grandpa Alan loathes Grandpa Ron, and the former, a workaholic lawyer, is used to getting his way. Besides, Mia’s not sure her California grandpa wants her around anyway. Unable to bring up her fears in her new, perhaps temporary, home, she brings her troubles to the school’s guidance counselor, Ana, and—though Mia’s not a churchgoer—a young priest named Armando. While the appearance of a priest often signals an overtly religious novel, or shows the clergyman to be hypocritical at best, Armando guides Mia through her grief and guilt without pushing an agenda. He’s a refreshing, often funny character. In fact, characterization across the board is solid; Mia’s narration is never less than believable, and everyone else is distinct and has a unique inner life. Weisskoff’s mise-en-scène compels as well, as in a passage set in Grandpa Ron’s attic atelier, where he’s moved Mia’s telescope. As the two stargaze through a broken window, Mia’s able to pass the knowledge of the night sky she gained from her father along to his father. It’s a touching moment, with the clear chime of truth.
Packs real emotional weight into its slim pages and escapes the didactic tone of some “issue” novels. A promising debut in realistic youth fiction.Pub Date: July 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-1478118565
Page Count: 200
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A collection of parental wishes for a child.
It starts out simply enough: two children run pell-mell across an open field, one holding a high-flying kite with the line “I wish you more ups than downs.” But on subsequent pages, some of the analogous concepts are confusing or ambiguous. The line “I wish you more tippy-toes than deep” accompanies a picture of a boy happily swimming in a pool. His feet are visible, but it's not clear whether he's floating in the deep end or standing in the shallow. Then there's a picture of a boy on a beach, his pockets bulging with driftwood and colorful shells, looking frustrated that his pockets won't hold the rest of his beachcombing treasures, which lie tantalizingly before him on the sand. The line reads: “I wish you more treasures than pockets.” Most children will feel the better wish would be that he had just the right amount of pockets for his treasures. Some of the wordplay, such as “more can than knot” and “more pause than fast-forward,” will tickle older readers with their accompanying, comical illustrations. The beautifully simple pictures are a sweet, kid- and parent-appealing blend of comic-strip style and fine art; the cast of children depicted is commendably multiethnic.
Although the love comes shining through, the text often confuses in straining for patterned simplicity. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4521-2699-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
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A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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