Born in 1920 with cerebral palsy and dismissed by ignorant doctors as feeble-minded, Petey Corbin spends all but the first two years of his long life institutionalized, his world barely larger than the walls of an asylum ward or, much later, nursing home. Within those walls, further imprisoned in an uncontrollable, atrophied body, he nonetheless experiences joy and love, sorrow, loss, and triumph as intensely as anyone on the outside. Able to communicate only with rudimentary sounds and facial expressions, he makes a series of friends through the years; as a very old man in a 1990s setting, he comes into contact with Trevor, a teenager who defends the old man against a trio of bullies, and remains a loyal companion through his final illness. This is actually two books in one, as with a midstream switch in point-of-view as the story becomes Trevor’s, focusing on his inner growth as he overcomes his initial disgust to become Petey’s friend. Mikaelsen portrays the places in which Petey is kept in (somewhat) less horrific terms than Kate Seago did in Matthew Unstrung (1998), and surrounds him with good-hearted people (even Petey’s parents are drawn sympathetically—they are plunged into poverty during his first two years by the bills his care entails). There are no accusations here, and despite some overly sentimentalized passages, the message comes through that every being deserves care, respect, and a chance to make a difference. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-7868-0426-2
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998
Lewis packs a lot of action into this short novel and plenty of changes into her hero’s young life. Morgy has just moved from California to Massachusetts, where he gets lost on the way home after the first day of school, is repeatedly picked on by an older bully, finds out his mother is pregnant with twins, tries to learn to play hockey, and survives a chimney fire, a blizzard, and a blackout. In between trials, he makes new friends and writes to old ones, is visited by his aunt, and helps raise money for new equipment for the school playground. This lighthearted novel is filled with incident and warmth, nicely matched in tone by Chesworth’s black-and-white illustrations. Especially pleasing is the easy way the members of his family and his new friend Byron’s family come together during the storm, spend Thanksgiving together on the spur of the moment, and thereafter are naturally integrated into one another’s lives. (Fiction. 6-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-92284-4
Page Count: 74
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fourth-grader Julie Dorinsky believes herself a failure, even though she’s artistically talented and a whiz at marbles. For her, those things don’t count’she wants to be smart. Instead of joining the academically advanced kids on “Scholars Day,” Julie is stuck doing remedial work with the “dumb kids,” and a series of “poor work papers” are crumpled in her backpack, awaiting a parent’s signature. At home, Julie’s father is recovering from a heart attack and her mother has had to take a secretarial job to make ends meet, so the last thing Julie wants to do is upset the harried pair by admitting that she’s struggling at school—that she can barely read. In the course of the story Julie finds a new friend, Marlene, and discovers—predictably—that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Williams does a credible job presenting her protagonist’s confusion caused by her lack of reading ability, but the story falters in a somewhat contrived ending that turns Julie into a local hero. It may be difficult for readers to believe that the adults around Julie are unaware of her problems; her skills are too exceptionally minimal to go unnoticed. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16846-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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