Forty-one stories bring postwar Chicago to life through the eyes of Gifford’s alter-ego, Roy, who acts as a witness to a bygone era.
In the coda to the collection, Prince Faisal says to Lawrence of Arabia, “I long for the vanished gardens of Cordoba,” and Roy, the protagonist of most of the stories “knew exactly how Faisal felt,” remembering his favorite shortstop on the infield of old, demolished Comiskey Park. Gifford’s first novel for young adults, published in both young adult and adult editions, recreates a vanished time and place. Roy’s experiences include strippers, prize fighters, bums, a grill owner abducted by aliens, a naked boy with a deer rifle, a fur-cart pusher who’s the son of Auschwitz survivors and other characters that flesh out a landscape that makes Roy who he is. The third-person stories are snippets of experience, tales that set up few conflicts and offer no obvious revelations, and young readers may well be frustrated by the intangibility of the stories, but they do offer an accumulation of experience that adds up to one boy’s life in a particular time and place, vividly captured by an author who well knows his subject. Young readers will find in Roy a worthy companion for a trip to a Chicago that doesn’t exist anymore. (Fiction. 14 & up)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-58322-948-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Seven Stories
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
A strongly plotted romantic comedy with plenty of well-structured, pitch-perfect drama to dig into.
A travel disaster turns into an unexpected adventure in this swoony romantic comedy.
Darcy Milligan is on her way back home to Los Angeles from the Silverspun Music Festival (“the Coachella of Nevada!”). Her phone is dying, and when the bus breaks down, she ends up stranded near the scenic (but desolate and remote) town of Jesse, a couple of hours north of Las Vegas. Enter Russell Henrion, a young man with whom she has a tension-filled, love-at-first-sight moment. He’s an adorable and awkward aspiring musical theater writer who will soon be starting a BFA at the University of Michigan. He also needs to charge his phone. As Darcy and Russell wait for the next morning’s replacement bus, they undertake an emotional journey that’s much more complicated than either of them anticipated. Readers will appreciate how Darcy and Russell’s relationship captures the essence of a dreamy whirlwind romance while addressing the realities of awkward, in-person dating that people who spend so much time online often experience. The quippy dialogue, hilarious jokes, and corny but juicy chemistry will delight those looking for something steamy without explicit on-page sex. Matson has mastered the art of the gradual reveal; she also weaves the transition to college, navigating parental expectations, and explorations of privilege into the story. The main characters read white.
A strongly plotted romantic comedy with plenty of well-structured, pitch-perfect drama to dig into. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781481499019
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
An immersive atmosphere and fearless protagonist outweigh the somewhat overstuffed mystery.
A story of friendship and resilience in the darkest of times.
Every summer, Paige Redmond, her parents, and her younger sister stay with the family of her best friend, Audrey Covington, at their luxurious vacation home in Clearwater Ridge. Fun, leisurely days filled with sunshine and rafting await. And Paige is eager to finally get sparks flying with Dylan, Audrey’s handsome, competitive swimmer older brother. At Dylan’s friend Tripp Shaw’s annual Summer Kickoff party, Audrey becomes preoccupied with a previous fling, leaving Paige and Dylan to finally connect. Over the course of the summer, 16-year-old Audrey grows distant—and one night in early August, she never comes home, and her family reports her missing. The following summer, Paige’s family decides to continue the tradition and join the Covingtons. Audrey’s case has gone cold, and Paige and Dylan’s relationship has become awkward and strained, but the hidden cell phone Paige finds brings the two back together, and they start investigating what really happened to Audrey that night. The narrative is filled with a few too many red herrings and an overabundance of twists and turns, but Paige’s nonstop determination to find the truth and her underlying need to absolve her and Dylan’s guilty consciences over not preventing what happened to Audrey keep the story flowing. Dylan and Paige’s sweet relationship brings a much-needed reprieve to the story’s darker aspects. Characters are cued white.
An immersive atmosphere and fearless protagonist outweigh the somewhat overstuffed mystery. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728251097
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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