An elegant, intelligent romance that’s engaging but at times overdone.
In this literary love story set in California and Turkey, a determined, independent Turkish woman turns her trials and tribulations into a life of fulfillment.
Young, single Yasmin holds a doctorate in psychology, and she just started her teaching position at a top Istanbul university. After running into an old friend at her local tennis club in the late 1970s, she’s immediately overtaken by a powerful bond to her friend’s husband, Renan; she can tell he feels the same attraction. Yasmin and Renan act honorably, with respect to his marriage and young son, as they endure being close friends without ever crossing a moral line. When Renan and his family move to Australia and the political situation in Turkey becomes unstable, Yasmin packs up her things and starts over in California. She maintains her intense passion for Renan but nonetheless creates a fulfilling professional and personal life for herself in her new city, eventually marrying an esteemed academic, although she never allows her love for Renan to fade. With support from her strong yet gentle mother, she even adopts a child. Talay-Ongan cleverly balances the deep fervor of Yasmin’s feelings for Renan with the reality of setting up a professional center and managing day-to-day life. While the narrative hints at political issues impacting both Yasmin and Renan, the focus of the story doesn’t deviate from their overpowering emotional affair. The pacing is slow and at times filled with overwrought emotion, but the characters are strong and intelligently written. Yasmin, the compelling protagonist, serves as a wise narrator—a resilient, self-aware woman who overcomes obstacles to achieve the goals she sets for herself. Her relationship with her family is complex and touching, although her connection with Renan borders on adolescent obsession. Their interactions are written with an ornate, lyrical quality that would seem more appropriate for a book of love poetry.
An elegant, intelligent romance that’s engaging but at times overdone.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 452
Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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