Passable but flawed.
This slice-of-life Canadian import is more than just another “I want to get a pet” tale.
Nine-year-old Jeannie was promised a hamster, but her father’s recent departure from the family has upset their routines. When she finally gets to the pet store and chooses a white hamster with blue eyes, she names it Harvey Owens, after her father. Meanwhile, Sapphire the hamster just wants to be free. She (yes, unbeknownst to Jeannie, Harvey/Sapphire is a female) escapes several times, but freedom is never what she thinks it will be. With Dad gone, new family friend Anna Conda steps in to help Jeannie’s mother out. A trans woman, Anna helps Jeannie to believe “you are who you are,” assisting Jeannie and her older brother with the background behind their parents’ separation: Their dad has fallen in love with another person, who happens to be a man. Sapphire and Jeannie narrate alternating chapters, and neither is completely aware of all that is going on around them. Sapphire, especially, reports dialogue and action she does not fully understand, adding an additional layer to this tale of understanding difference. Seen through Jeannie’s unquestioning gaze, Anna is a sympathetic, fairly rounded character, but she also comes across as a plot device. Additionally, she concedes to Jeannie’s desire to learn her pre-transition name—a missed opportunity to communicate to young readers this essential point of respect. Jeannie’s family and Anna present white. Sapphire's illustrated guide to hamster care adds a touch of fun.
Passable but flawed. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Feb. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-77278-069-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Magical animals become a kooky, sweet metaphor for growing up.
She’s just the adorablest, teeniest of stray kittens—suddenly grown as big as a hippopotamus.
Zoe’s not supposed to bring stray animals home anymore, ever since the skunk incident. Who can resist the world’s smallest kitten, though? And it’s Zoe’s 12th birthday, and she’s been unhappy at how tall she’s grown, and she’s been crushed over her older brother’s impending departure for college; eventually, her concerned parents cave. But after Pipsqueak’s been with Zoe for just a couple of days, she’s suddenly a full-grown cat. Then she’s the size of a dog, then a lion, and after less than a week, a hippo. If the government finds out about the enormous talking feline (for Pipsqueak can speak, now, and read as well), will they take her away to Area 51? Zoe and her best friend, Harrison, begin a quest: They’ll take Pipsqueak to Zoe’s wacky New Age aunt, who’ll maybe have a solution for them. Along the way their fellowship swells with magical animals, an offbeat crew composed of a six-tailed green dog and a multicolored flying mouse. The far-fetched setup and ensuing adventure convey themes that will resonate with the audience; Pipsqueak’s as unhappy with her out-of-control body and circumstances as Zoe, and the quest may lead them to new comfort with themselves. Zoe is depicted as white on the cover, and Harrison is of South Asian descent.
Magical animals become a kooky, sweet metaphor for growing up. (Fantasy. 8-11)Pub Date: June 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-358-06502-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Aswim with good feelings and cogent points to ponder.
A gregarious harbor porpoise gains an expanded circle of land-based friends and allies in this sequel to A Dog’s Porpoise (2019).
Into this second wholesome, joyfully splashy episode, the pun-loving author folds both sober concerns about the hazards of human–wild animal interactions and a cautionary subplot about being too quick to judge others. Lars the dog is delighted to dive in with Natalie, his adopted human, to play with finny, friendly harbor porpoise Bangor. But a likewise playful river otter, soon dubbed “Marina” by charmed observers, arrives to replace him as the center of attention. Worse yet (from Natalie’s point of view, anyway), the furry new visitor brings not only a fresh flood of reporters and tourists to sleepy Ogunquit, Maine, but also a standoffish stranger, formerly associated with an abusive roadside animal attraction, who asks ominously sharp questions about exactly where the otter and Bangor’s family pod are most often spotted. As it turns out, the stranger’s motives are actually benign, and no sooner does he voice warnings about how being too comfortable around humans can place wild animals in danger than Bangor is wounded in a collision with a boat and beached. This crisis sets the stage for both a dramatic rescue (in which even Lars and the otter play important roles) and better relations all round. The mildly anthropomorphic creature cast is joined by a human one that’s cued white.
Aswim with good feelings and cogent points to ponder. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781339019833
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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