An unvarnished portrait of grief and healing; approach with care.
A teen struggles to cope with her younger sister’s death in the follow-up to Jude Banks, Superhero (2021).
Ever since her younger sister, Halley, died from a peanut allergy two years ago, 14-year-old Clementine Marsh has felt like the world outside is overwhelming and that she’s trapped in a snow globe. Her new high school is chaotic, and gossip has made her a target of bullying. Her best friend moved to Vermont and feels like a stranger. Worst of all, her widowed mother has fallen in love. How can Clementine cope with losing Halley when it feels like she’s losing her mom too? Clementine’s narrative, which drifts between past and present, candidly explores depression and grief. Unfortunately, some scenes, such as Clementine’s vividly recounted suicide attempt, risk triggering readers with similar struggles, and there are no mental health resources included. Realistically, Clementine’s path toward healing is not linear; hopeful moments alternate with physical and verbal outbursts and periods of inertia. Readers will root for Clementine as she learns to manage her emotions with help from a support group, though Hood’s dashing of potentially positive developments becomes emotionally taxing. Most secondary characters are lightly developed, but Clementine’s relationship with her mother—who remains steadily supportive amid her own grief, worry, and exhaustion—is touchingly three-dimensional. Clementine reads White; secondary characters bring some diversity.
An unvarnished portrait of grief and healing; approach with care. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: May 23, 2023
ISBN: 9780593094105
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
A lackluster story with forgettable characters.
A surfer joins the U.S. Navy and fights in the Korean War.
Fergus Frew Junior loves the ocean despite its being the reason his father, Fergus Senior, died. It’s June 1949: Fergus has just graduated high school and has no plans except for catching sweet waves on the beach. On one such day, Fergus meets Duke, a U.S. Marine who borrows his surfboard without asking. Despite Fergus’ being hotheaded and having no interest in making friends, the two form a bond over their love of the sea. All the while, Duke—embittered by his experience with other Marines—encourages Fergus to join the Navy, selling it as an opportunity for a comfortable life living in pleasant locations. A tragic accident prompts Fergus to listen to his friend’s advice, and he joins the Navy with perilous consequences, as he is drawn into the Korean War. Tender moments between Fergus and his mother and the odd but interesting friendship between Fergus and Duke are unfortunately not enough to offset the dry writing and underdeveloped plot. The too-fast pacing leaves little room to form attachments to any of the characters or provide enough historical context for the events at hand. While promising at first, this quick read results in little enjoyment, much like one of Fergus’ listless, aimless summers. All American characters seem to be white.
A lackluster story with forgettable characters. (Historical fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-86165-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
An emotionally moving portrayal of the effects grief has on a family.
Eleven-and-a-half-year-old Allegra is divided by a family at odds with each other.
Allegra’s mum died when she was 3, but she doesn’t know what caused her death or why it made her family stop speaking to each other. She just knows that they each love her differently, and she feels split in three ways trying to maintain relationships with each of them. Allegra lives at Number 23 with her Hungarian Jewish grandmother, Matilde, who is haunted by memories of the war and who runs a strict household. With Matilde she is Allegra. Her father, Rick, takes her surfing, and they have a good time together. But for reasons she doesn’t understand, he lives in the flat above Matilde’s garage; with him she’s Al Pal. Next door, at Number 25, lives her passionate Catholic grandmother, Joy, to whom she is Ally. When Allegra helps a friend and things go awry, their family secrets must be confronted. Set in 1970s Australia at the cusp of a cultural revolution, this is both a story of self-discovery and one of family healing. Debut author Daniel’s strength lies in the creation of complex characters; Allegra in particular operates from a sheltered existence and makes decisions, judgments, and mistakes in an authentic—and, at times, painful—way. Most characters are white except Allegra’s best friend and her mother, who are Indigenous.
An emotionally moving portrayal of the effects grief has on a family. (Historical fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-5107-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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