by Ann Rubino ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2015
An experiment with YA literature that disappoints as often as it delights.
A gifted youngster explores the world of late-19th-century Iowa in this historical novel for young readers.
In this book by Rubino (Peppino and the Streets of Gold, 2016, etc.), Emmet Roche is a little boy unlike any other in his rural farming town. While other children merely endure the classes taught in their one-room schoolhouse, he loves them. While other children play outside, Emmet reads. And while other children hone their farming skills, Emmet, much to the dismay of his father and teachers, conducts experiments. Everywhere he looks, he sees a puzzle to be solved or an idea to be tested. And he’ll do anything to do so, no matter how messy—or downright dangerous—it gets. His ultimate ambition is to find a way to store and harness electricity, but this goal is hampered by his teachers’ misunderstanding, his friends’ ridicule, his poor eyesight, and his tendency to get hurt while exploring the world. Eventually, his father sends him to a school more suited for someone of his intellect. There, he soon finds that he can do more than just show off—and that sometimes learning can be a lifesaver. If this book does one thing right, it’s making Emmet’s joy in learning contagious. It describes each of his experiments in loving detail, and even illustrates many of them. Truly dedicated young scientists will particularly enjoy the gallery of real-life patent diagrams at the end, including one by Thomas Edison. But unfortunately, the author isn’t as adept at describing people as she is at describing inventions. The dialogue often feels stilted and full of facts that may be interesting historically, but aren’t very relevant to the conversations at hand, such as when one little girl announces, “That kind of house is called a soddie, Miss. We lived in one when I was little.” The story also ends abruptly without answering many of the questions that drove the story.
An experiment with YA literature that disappoints as often as it delights.Pub Date: March 31, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-942247-06-7
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Catree Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Ann Rubino illustrated by Robert Cimbalo
by Marti Dumas illustrated by Stephanie Parcus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 2017
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
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Marti Dumas
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by Marti Dumas
by Paul Langan Ben Alirez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2004
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
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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