The author of Red-Dirt Jessie (1992) offers a second novel set in rural Oklahoma. Rosie yearns to have her brother Ronny safely home from Korea. Meanwhile, her troubles at school—where the other sixth-graders deride her shabby clothes and unkempt hair—are lightened by a new friend. Cassandra's dad, too, works on an oil rig, but while Rosie's mother died of polio, Cassandra says hers is a Hollywood star. Rumor has it that she has really abandoned her family, but for Rosie, believing her charismatic friend is a point of honor. And, besides, doesn't Cassandra's ``magic'' help Rosie regain her precious locket and win a spelling bee? Cassandra's powers, including a real gift for friendship, are tested when Ronny comes home with a Korean wife and her six-year-old son. Jealous, Rosie tries to enlist her friend's aid in returning them to Korea. A melodramatic event (little Yong So falls into a cistern) causes Rosie to recognize her true affection for them. Myers draws the lonely girls with insight and subtlety, though the reason for Cassandra's deception is not well developed. Rosie's use of double negatives in the first person narrative sits uneasily with her otherwise graceful, literate phrasing (and the fact that she's an able and avid reader), and the gentle, one-dimensional Koreans are merely foils, and not very good ones, for Rosie. Still, an entertaining story with some real strengths. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 6, 1994
ISBN: 0-8027-8305-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
Budding billionaire Greg Kenton has a knack for making money and a serious rival. When he issues his first Chunky Comic Book at the beginning of sixth grade, his neighbor and classmate Maura Shaw produces an alternative. Their quarrel draws the attention of the principal, who bans comics from the school. But when they notice all the other commercial messages in their school, they take their cause to the local school committee. Without belaboring his point, Clements takes on product placement in schools and the need for wealth. “Most people can only use one bathroom at a time,” says Greg’s math teacher, Mr. Z. Greg gets the message; middle-grade readers may ignore it in favor of the delightful spectacle of Greg’s ultimate economic success, a pleasing result for the effort this up-and-coming young businessman puts into his work. Clements weaves intriguing information about comic book illustration into this entertaining, smoothly written story. Selznick’s accompanying black-and-white drawings have the appearance of sketches Greg might have made himself. This hits the jackpot. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-689-86683-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2005
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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