A novel about personal strength found in the midst of terrible grief—a harrowing tale of loss and redemption. Eli, 12, loses both his mother and sister to the 1878 yellow fever epidemic in Memphis. His father can't bear the tragedy and jumps a train out of the city, abandoning his son. Eli makes his way to Elmwood Cemetery for his sister's burial. There he is drawn to Grace, the so-called Graveyard Girl, who rings the bell for the dead and writes their names in the record. Grace tries to enlist Eli's help in caring for orphaned Addie but he resists, hoping that by remaining frozen and uncaring, he will also be unfettered. The opposite is true, however; only when he begins to help others do his own wounds begin to heal. With this book, Myers returns to the taut, deeply felt prose that marked her first novel, Red-Dirt Jessie (1992). The situation provides tension as well as horrifying historical details about the epidemic itself. The book ends on a hopeful note, but its unrelenting sadness will be difficult for some readers. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 1995
ISBN: 0-8027-8260-4
Page Count: 125
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1995
For the curious, the listeners, the adventurers, the caregivers, the young, and the old.
How does one entertain two baby kestrels in the middle of a West Texas dust storm? With camel stories, of course.
Like her namesake Scheherazade, elderly camel Zada has many stories to tell from her adventurous life. It’s 1910, and she has charge of Wims and Beulah, two baby kestrels whose parents have vanished in a vicious dust storm. The threesome shelter in an empty mountain lion’s cave, waiting for safety. Zada hopes to get the chicks to the safe meeting place chosen by their parents just before a dust devil snatched them away. The evocative language is spellbinding as tales from Zada’s life calm the baby birds—and capture the interest of readers as well. The fledglings learn that Zada was raised by a Turkish pasha and gifted with eight other prized racing camels to the U.S. Army in 1856, ending up in Texas (events inspired by actual history). A delight to the senses, Zada’s stories are a descriptive wonder, featuring roiling dust, howling winds, fresh figs, and cool water, bolstering the emotions shown in Rohmann’s grayscale oil paintings. Readers will revel in both the vivid stories of Zada’s past and the rich vocabulary of Texas desert life. Appelt’s voice and pacing demonstrate her fine storytelling skills. Hearts will grow fond of this wise old camel; she is a bright star.
For the curious, the listeners, the adventurers, the caregivers, the young, and the old. (glossary, author’s note, sources) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0643-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
Japanese-American Aki and her family operate an asparagus farm in Westminster, Calif., until they are summarily uprooted and...
Two third-grade girls in California suffer the dehumanizing effects of racial segregation after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in 1942 in this moving story based on true events in the lives of Sylvia Mendez and Aki Munemitsu.
Japanese-American Aki and her family operate an asparagus farm in Westminster, Calif., until they are summarily uprooted and dispatched to an internment camp in Poston, Ariz., for the duration of World War II. As Aki endures the humiliation and deprivation of the hot, cramped barracks, she wonders if there’s “something wrong with being Japanese.” Sylvia’s Mexican-American family leases the Munemitsu farm. She expects to attend the local school but faces disappointment when authorities assign her to a separate, second-rate school for Mexican kids. In response, Sylvia’s father brings a legal action against the school district arguing against segregation in what eventually becomes a successful landmark case. Their lives intersect after Sylvia finds Aki’s doll, meets her in Poston and sends her letters. Working with material from interviews, Conkling alternates between Aki and Sylvia’s stories, telling them in the third person from the war’s start in 1942 through its end in 1945, with an epilogue updating Sylvia’s story to 1955.Pub Date: July 12, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58246-337-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Tricycle
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2011
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