Purposeful, but the writing shows promise.
In this thinly disguised ecology lesson, a young turtle named Benjamin tries to save his friends in Turtle Pond from certain destruction.
All of the denizens of the pond fear the “Tulegs,” those “cold, cruel, and calculating” monsters that destroy turtles, and the “rumblers,” who are “large and loud” and “ma[k]e the earth shudder and the pond shake.” When Dot, a young spotted turtle, arrives with news that her pond has been destroyed by rumblers, and that Turtle Pond also lies in peril, it falls to Benjamin to save the tribe. Along the way, he’s hit by a rumbler, but rescued by a young tuleg, becoming her pet. When her family takes him to a picnic at a beautiful new pond, Benjamin realizes he has found the paradise he seeks for his tribe. Because the story is told entirely from the turtle’s point of view, it will work well as an educational device that teaches children kindness to animals. Additionally, the author effectively develops each of the secondary characters: Wibble, the cowardly turtle who has an obsession with candy wrappers; Hopper, the little frog who acts with consistent bravado; and Jeremiah, the wise old snapper. Although the prose is a bit choppy in the first few chapters, Riley finds her voice soon enough to weave plenty of suspense into her tale of courage.
Purposeful, but the writing shows promise. (Fiction. 6-12)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-39840-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Troubled teen meets totemic catalyst in Mikaelsen’s (Petey, 1998, etc.) earnest tribute to Native American spirituality. Fifteen-year-old Cole is cocky, embittered, and eaten up by anger at his abusive parents. After repeated skirmishes with the law, he finally faces jail time when he viciously beats a classmate. Cole’s parole officer offers him an alternative—Circle Justice, an innovative justice program based on Native traditions. Sentenced to a year on an uninhabited Arctic island under the supervision of Edwin, a Tlingit elder, Cole provokes an attack from a titanic white “Spirit Bear” while attempting escape. Although permanently crippled by the near-death experience, he is somehow allowed yet another stint on the island. Through Edwin’s patient tutoring, Cole gradually masters his rage, but realizes that he needs to help his former victims to complete his own healing. Mikaelsen paints a realistic portrait of an unlikable young punk, and if Cole’s turnaround is dramatic, it is also convincingly painful and slow. Alas, the rest of the characters are cardboard caricatures: the brutal, drunk father, the compassionate, perceptive parole officer, and the stoic and cryptic Native mentor. Much of the plot stretches credulity, from Cole’s survival to his repeated chances at rehabilitation to his victim being permitted to share his exile. Nonetheless, teens drawn by the brutality of Cole’s adventures, and piqued by Mikaelsen’s rather muscular mysticism, might absorb valuable lessons on anger management and personal responsibility. As melodramatic and well-meaning as the teens it targets. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2001
ISBN: 0-380-97744-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
A well-loved author brings together, on a Maine vacation, characters from two of her books. Peter's parents have assured him that though Sheila ("The Great") Tubman and her family will be nearby, they'll have their own house; but instead, they find a shared arrangement in which the two families become thoroughly intertwined—which suits everyone but the curmudgeonly Peter. Irrepressible little brother Fudge, now five, is planning to marry Sheila, who agrees to babysit with Peter's toddler sister; there's a romance between the grandparents in the two families; and the wholesome good fun, including a neighborhood baseball game featuring an aging celebrity player, seems more important than Sheila and Peter's halfhearted vendetta. The story's a bit tame (no controversies here), but often amusingly true to life and with enough comic episodes to satisfy fans.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-525-44672-9
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
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