A story with a delicate, intriguing voice, but its philosophy may not appeal to everyone.
A sentient statue, deep in the ocean, falls in love with her rescuer, only to be separated from him in this fablelike novel for middle-grade readers.
On the seafloor stands a sculpture of a pretty girl “carved from the purest milk-white stone.” Then a boy diver, Niko, lifts her from the seabed with ropes, dubbing her Pearl. He fantasizes aloud about standing with Pearl on the balcony of a pink stucco hotel, and she falls in love with him; over time, though, he grows up while Pearl stays the same. When Niko sells Pearl, her heart breaks. In her new home, a statue of a wise old man explains that “We are the solidified dreams of a sculptor”; they can also talk and think in what he calls the “old language,” or the speech of the “Big Dream from which we all…are born….We silently speak to [people], helping them to recall what they have lost and forgotten.” The sage instructs Pearl about the world and its secrets (for example, that “Knowledge, and her sister Wisdom, are born from Ideas”); Pearl listens closely, hoping to find a way back to Niko. Her greatest wish is to be flesh and blood, and the Sage advises her to “utter [her] improbable desire to the stars.” A local revolution among humans brings chaos, and Pearl is eventually sold to a pink stucco hotel. There, she makes a final, earnest wish. Kindall (Delivering Virtue, 2015, etc.) taps into the mythic for this fable about rejoining life after having been frozen—a storyline that readers could interpret psychologically, spiritually, or intellectually as a reawakening. The Sage’s education of Pearl fits in with the human idea of growing up, leaving childhood behind, and understanding one’s greater place in the world. Although the book is aimed at children, adults are more likely to find interest in the Sage’s ideas. However, they’re also more likely to criticize them; for example, if “the Cosmos is in league with every one of its inhabitants,” for example, then why do so many innocents suffer?
A story with a delicate, intriguing voice, but its philosophy may not appeal to everyone.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9909328-3-3
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Diving Boy Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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