A big, sumptuous tale of catty girls, dark secrets and windswept romance unfurls in this compulsively readable novel of late-19th-century New York City socialites. Godbersen weaves a tenuous web of deceit, backstabbing and pretense that follows four teens: Elizabeth Holland, a prim and proper lady of old-money society, is betrothed to one man, though furtively loves another; Henry Schoonmaker, a debauched playboy who must marry Elizabeth or be disinherited; Diana Holland, Elizabeth’s younger sister who is in love with her fiancé; and Penelope Hayes, a member of the nouveau riche who will stop at nothing to win Henry’s affections. As Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding approaches, the spectacle unfolds in a wondrously grandiose scene, making for a fun, though not entirely unexpected dénouement. A delicious new twist along the Gossip Girl vein, readers will clamor for this sharp, smart drama of friends, lovers, lies and betrayal. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-134566-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deft, delightful, and emotionally complex examination of intergenerational relationships.
Goo takes readers on a journey examining the impacts of Korean American heritage and parental expectations on mother-daughter relationships.
Sixteen-year-old Samantha Kang doesn’t understand her perfectly poised mother’s desire to conform to wealthy White American society. Likewise, Priscilla Kang doesn’t understand her daughter’s choice of boyfriend or lack of ambition. When Halmoni, Sam’s beloved maternal grandmother, falls ill, intense feelings bubble up, leading to family turmoil. Sam downloads Throwback Rides, a magical ride-share app that drops her off in 1995, where she must help teenage Priscilla’s all-American dream come true if she hopes to return to the present before her phone battery dies. Goo’s masterful storytelling examines the complex nature of familial relationships: As Sam observes the daily microaggressions Asian students face at school and the tense relationship between Priscilla and Halmoni, each still dealing with residual grief following Priscilla’s father’s death, she begins to empathize and understand the person her mother becomes. The strength of this realization lies not in excusing her mother’s behavior but compassionately understanding the ongoing fallout of trauma. Sam navigates the delicate balance between the ways parents’ dreams for their children can be at odds with what children wish for themselves. The story maintains lightness as Sam attempts to make her mom homecoming queen, falls for a football player in the ’90s, and tries her best to fit into an era at odds with her progressive 21st-century values.
A deft, delightful, and emotionally complex examination of intergenerational relationships. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-63893-020-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Paulsen recalls personal experiences that he incorporated into Hatchet (1987) and its three sequels, from savage attacks by moose and mosquitoes to watching helplessly as a heart-attack victim dies. As usual, his real adventures are every bit as vivid and hair-raising as those in his fiction, and he relates them with relish—discoursing on “The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition,” for instance: “Something that you would never consider eating, something completely repulsive and ugly and disgusting, something so gross it would make you vomit just looking at it, becomes absolutely delicious if you’re starving.” Specific examples follow, to prove that he knows whereof he writes. The author adds incidents from his Iditarod races, describes how he made, then learned to hunt with, bow and arrow, then closes with methods of cooking outdoors sans pots or pans. It’s a patchwork, but an entertaining one, and as likely to win him new fans as to answer questions from his old ones. (Autobiography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-32650-5
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
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