by Arthur Edgar E. Smith ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2012
An admirable focus on the importance of education, but inexact prose and shaky story structure diminish the effort.
Smith’s debut collection of short tales mostly deals with the difficulties faced by young men growing up in Sierra Leone.
These stories offer cursory glimpses into the lives of people living in the complex, troubled land that the U.N. often refers to as the worst country on earth. Yet little of that supposedly rampant lawlessness or bloodshed is reflected in these simple, naïve accounts of boys and men attempting to become educated, please their fathers and succeed in the contemporary world. Smith, who himself has achieved an impressive level of education, has long been fascinated by writers, particularly those connected to Africa. In one story, “Equiano and His Captain Dream of Suddenly Becoming Rich,” he references early African-diaspora writer Olaudah Equiano. Another Smith story, “Richard Gets Lured into Widely Reading and a Literary World,” is based on a documented incident involving African-American writer Richard Wright, who, as a black man in Memphis in the 1920s, cannot check out books from the public library, so he makes arrangements with a white co-worker to lend him a library card. Wright hands the card to the librarian, along with a forged note—“Dear Madam: Will you please let this nigger boy have some books by H.L. Mencken.” Thus begins the literary education of one of America’s great writers. This inspiring and infuriating anecdote has great potential in the hands of a skilled writer. In this collection, however, Smith struggles to summon any of its power; poorly constructed sentences, misused vocabulary and general imprecision detract from the narrative’s weight. In describing the climactic scene, Smith writes that Wright hands the librarian what “he thought would be a full-proof note,” and then “he doffed off his hat and standing at a respectful distance from the desk, tried to put on as unbookish a look as he could create out of himself.” The theme of boys trying to secure an education runs through almost every story: In “The Changing Fortunes of a Student in Crisis,” a promising student suffers a complete breakdown but is ultimately cured after he finds out that he passed his all-important exams, and in “Running Against Failure,” a boy frantically tries to navigate the town’s inadequate transportation system so he can take his required exams.
An admirable focus on the importance of education, but inexact prose and shaky story structure diminish the effort.Pub Date: March 22, 2012
ISBN: 978-1467889223
Page Count: 144
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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 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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