by Belinda Hollyer ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2009
When her older sister Kate disappears, almost-13-year-old Mini uncovers a family secret in trying to find her. Aside from Kate, Mini lacks close friends. Classmates find her “weird” and “boring” because of her passion for geography, but Kate always understands Mini and her “geography thing.” Aware “it’s not a good idea to be different at school,” Mini befriends Satch, a new kid with a stutter. In spite of this budding relationship, her world wobbles when predictable Kate starts fighting with their parents, comes home with a tattoo and eventually vanishes. Confounded that her adored sister left without confiding in her, Mini applies intuition and geographical skills to track Kate, discovering a lot about her family and herself in the process. Mini’s insightful, humorous first-person narrative reveals a sensitive girl with an honest self-image who is able to appreciate how her parents, her sister and her new friend feel. Although driven by the mystery of Kate’s disappearance, the heart of this story really lies in the down-to-earth family drama and its satisfying, realistic resolution. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2179-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2009
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by Belinda Hollyer & illustrated by Sophy Williams
by Jacqueline Davies ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 23, 2007
Told from the point of view of two warring siblings, this could have been an engaging first chapter book. Unfortunately, the length makes it less likely to appeal to the intended audience. Jessie and Evan are usually good friends as well as sister and brother. But the news that bright Jessie will be skipping a grade to join Evan’s fourth-grade class creates tension. Evan believes himself to be less than clever; Jessie’s emotional maturity doesn’t quite measure up to her intelligence. Rivalry and misunderstandings grow as the two compete to earn the most money in the waning days of summer. The plot rolls along smoothly and readers will be able to both follow the action and feel superior to both main characters as their motivations and misconceptions are clearly displayed. Indeed, a bit more subtlety in characterization might have strengthened the book’s appeal. The final resolution is not entirely believable, but the emphasis on cooperation and understanding is clear. Earnest and potentially successful, but just misses the mark. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 23, 2007
ISBN: 0-618-75043-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
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by Jacqueline Davies ; illustrated by Cara Llewellyn
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 17, 2019
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many.
Young Raina is 9 when she throws up for the first time that she remembers, due to a stomach bug. Even a year later, when she is in fifth grade, she fears getting sick.
Raina begins having regular stomachaches that keep her home from school. She worries about sharing food with her friends and eating certain kinds of foods, afraid of getting sick or food poisoning. Raina’s mother enrolls her in therapy. At first Raina isn’t sure about seeing a therapist, but over time she develops healthy coping mechanisms to deal with her stress and anxiety. Her therapist helps her learn to ground herself and relax, and in turn she teaches her classmates for a school project. Amping up the green, wavy lines to evoke Raina’s nausea, Telgemeier brilliantly produces extremely accurate visual representations of stress and anxiety. Thought bubbles surround Raina in some panels, crowding her with anxious “what if”s, while in others her negative self-talk appears to be literally crushing her. Even as she copes with anxiety disorder and what is eventually diagnosed as mild irritable bowel syndrome, she experiences the typical stresses of school life, going from cheer to panic in the blink of an eye. Raina is white, and her classmates are diverse; one best friend is Korean American.
With young readers diagnosed with anxiety in ever increasing numbers, this book offers a necessary mirror to many. (Graphic memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-545-85251-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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