A young African-American girl struggles to reconcile her parents' divorce and the subsequent fragmentation of her family in this eloquent and life-affirming novel from Johnson (Humming Whispers, 1995, etc.). The town of Harvey, Ohio, in the summer of 1975 isn't much of a playground for the narrator, 13-year-old Doreen, her younger brother, Robert, and their mother, Mama Dot: Plant closings and a stagnant economy have left it a desperate, depressed version of its former, thriving self. Yet Mama Dot attends Ohio University as a full-time student with plans to become a museum curator, and the kids have plenty of friends to play with, although the memory of their father, who recently moved to Chicago, is a source of constant sadness. The America that Johnson recreates is far removed from the Bicentennial euphoria the characters anticipate, one that reels from the Vietnam War as a destroyer of fathers and husbands, offering no comfort nor the reward of a decent job upon their return. Johnson is honest enough to offer no easy answers: While Doreen's father returns to the family, it is only for a visit; when he offers to take Robert, who has stopped talking, Doreen realizes that she must make yet another sacrifice. But the message is uplifting—even though her family cannot be together, and she is still in pain, Doreen is left at the conclusion still full of love and, more importantly, hope. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-531-30023-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An unusual story about forging new bonds.
Carl Chesterfield can see 33 bridges from his Pittsburgh window.
Descended from generations of bridge engineers, Carl is avidly interested in the structures. His creatively frustrated father spends his time repairing bridges because there is no room to build new ones—and strangely, more repairs are needed than ever as bridges are being damaged in unusual ways. Friendless Carl spots a cryptic flyer warning people about the damage to bridges, making him wonder whether someone else also believes that monsters are the culprit. Carl’s father finally opens a food truck near an old bridge constructed by Carl’s great-grandfather where, as a proudly average person, he insists on serving average food, which he mistakenly believes will have broad appeal. Carl finally makes a friend in Teddy (flyer creator and school principal’s son), who broaches the monster theory. However, Carl encounters Frank, a troll who lives under the bridge near his father’s food truck, who, rather than eating them, once protected bridges. Bee, another classmate and daughter of Pittsburgh’s foremost restaurant critic, soon joins the boys. This occasionally humorous novel features a likable cast of middle school kids and their families. Frank plays an amusing role in saving the day—after causing much of the trouble. Most main characters read as White; Bee and her mother are East Asian. Photorealistic grayscale spot art greatly enhances the text, bringing the setting and characters' emotions to life.
An unusual story about forging new bonds. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-54251-7
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartfelt exploration of a young writer’s struggles and successes, with practical advice included.
If you already know your fantasy story’s plot, characters, and world, then writing it will be easy, right? So why is Lyla so stuck?
Attending a different middle school than her best friend, Rania Goswami, seventh grader Lyla hasn’t found other close friends; at lunch she’s stuck with weird, friendless, animal-obsessed Journey Lombardi-Sullivan. At least Lyla’s favorite teacher assigns them creative writing, so Lyla can finally start the story she’s long been plotting, one about a Scribe named Aster’s quest through the haunted Quagmire to rescue her big sister. But why won’t the words come? And why do Rania and her new friends seem to be laughing at Lyla’s writing project? At home, constant fighting between Dahlia (Lyla’s “genius” older sister) and their parents hides Dahlia’s desperate desire not to attend college. How can Lyla unstick her writing, recognize her true friends, and find a practical way to help her sister? With wonderfully rich characterization and impeccable pacing, the author interweaves middle school friend and family dramas with struggles familiar to any writer. Of the many constructive suggestions offered by Lyla’s teacher, some do help her, such as not remaining laser focused on winning the contest. The inserted excerpts from Lyla’s novel demonstrate both her writing-process difficulties and how her real-life problems subconsciously inform her writing. Most main characters are cued white; Rania reads Indian American.
A heartfelt exploration of a young writer’s struggles and successes, with practical advice included. (writing tips) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9781534489868
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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