An unexpectedly buoyant tale of loss and healing.
Foisted off on distant grandparents, an orphaned Vancouver teenager finds that she’s not the only one nursing secrets and regrets.
Readers may be forgiven for thinking they’re in for a grim tale, as, even before it starts, 15-year-old Rachel and her mysteriously scarred 6-year-old sister, Jane, have lost their unstable single mom to a drug overdose and an uncle to an accident involving a hunting rifle. Citra has something more affirming in mind, though, and after depositing the two orphans with their grandparents on a run-down ranch so remote that cell service is iffy, she measures out mysteries and revelations while chronicling a summer of discoveries—some tragic, even gruesome, but others that give Rachel whole new visions of her mother, her family, and of her own life. Outdoorsy experiences work wonders on traumatized Jane, too, who joins a gentle old horse and an overexcitable dog as real scene-stealers in a supporting cast rich in nuanced, surprising characters of diverse ages (if not ethnicities, as all, except for one minor character identified as unspecified First Nations, are apparently White; a rain dance by Rachel and Jane unfortunately evokes Native stereotypes). Rachel arrives on the ranch eager to take the first chance to sneak back to Vancouver with her beloved little sister, but readers, particularly those able to catch subtle cues and read between lines, will understand how events and insights gradually transform her vision of the future.
An unexpectedly buoyant tale of loss and healing. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-77260-243-2
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Second Story Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
An engaging pair of tales that communicate a thoughtful message with a light touch.
Husband-and-wife team Stephanie Perry Moore (Get What You Give, 2010) and Derrick Moore (It's Possible!, 2008) deliver a pair of intersecting but distinct stories from the points of view of a cheerleader and a quarterback at a predominantly African-American Atlanta high school.
Spoiled, confident Charli Black and driven athlete Blake Strong have been together for two years. Now, at the start of their junior year, they are growing apart. Blake wants to “take [their] relationship to the next level,” but Charli wants to wait. Charli has become co-captain of the cheerleading squad and is frustrated that Blake expects her always to be available. Or, from Blake's point of view, Blake has important family news (his mother has cancer), and his girl won't make time to talk to him. Giving readers access to both parties' perspectives helps them see where both Blake and Charli go wrong, as well as where each has valid needs and complaints. At the same time, each story is complete within itself, and the two complement rather than repeat each other. A cast of recognizable supporting characters—including sweet Ella and “salty” Eva for Charli and troubled Leo and wannabe gangster Landon for Blake—enlivens each narrator's story.
An engaging pair of tales that communicate a thoughtful message with a light touch. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: June 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-61651-884-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Saddleback Educational Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
Readers who have been along with Alice on her journey from the start will enjoy this latest installment in a reliable series...
Alice and her friends take summer jobs aboard a cruise ship on the Chesapeake Bay following graduation.
Thrilled with the nearly two-to-one ratio of guys to girls that makes up for the low pay and drudgery of galley duty, Alice makes the most of her summer before college. She's torn between missing Patrick, who's in Barcelona, and enjoying flirtatious outings with Mitch, a 20-ish crew member who's taking the summer off from trapping muskrats in the Maryland marshes. Dramatic episodes large and small fill the weeks on the refurbished Seascape. A passenger accuses Alice of stealing her watch; another gets his kicks exposing himself when she comes to clean his room. A bee sting lands Liz in the hospital; Gwen breaks up with Austin and has her own shipboard romance. Pamela's needy, troubled mother arrives during the same week that her father and his girlfriend are on board. A rather old-fashioned plot with a tone of comfortable familiarity mixes with a smattering of innuendo and scatological humor. Alice observes it all from her place on the verge of adulthood, pondering what the future holds for her as she looks back over her life so far.
Readers who have been along with Alice on her journey from the start will enjoy this latest installment in a reliable series as it begins to wind down . (Fiction. 13-15)Pub Date: May 22, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4588-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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