An occasionally muddled, overambitious foray into an X-Men–like universe.
Kids the system has given up on acquire power of their own in Thompson’s (The Anarchists, 2012, etc.) YA debut sci-fi thriller, the first in a series set among students at an alternative high school.
Jason Champion suffers from ADHD and rage blackouts. After he breaks a student’s jaw in a fight he doesn’t remember, he lands at Regional Education and Guidance Collective Training high school for the last two weeks of his freshman year. R.E.G.C.T., colloquially known as “Reject High,” is a dumping ground for students the district would prefer to forget; having just reopened after a student’s on-site suicide, the school’s slated for demolition during the summer. Jason strikes up a friendship with goth girl Rhapsody Lowe. While playing hooky in the same restroom where Cherish Watkins killed herself, they’re almost caught by an armed Student Resource officer who patrols the halls. In fact, they should have been caught—Jason knows the cop looked right at him but didn’t seem to see him. Mystified, he grills Rhapsody as they serve detention together for kissing in the cafeteria. She reveals that she has powers of invisibility, thanks to a bright green crystal found in the school’s basement. When she gives Jason a prism made of the same material, he develops powers of his own: superhuman strength and incredible jumping ability. Soon, they’re pursued by unknown adversaries who want to protect “the source.” Thompson attempts to address serious issues, such as mental illness, bullying and victim-blaming (Jason’s love interest, Sasha, was kicked out of her previous school because a boyfriend taped them having sex and circulated it online), but the book’s overextended breadth doesn’t suit the story well. However, once the superpowers and villainous conspiracies show up, these topics fade into the background in favor of chase scenes and portentous bad-guy speeches. Still, it’s refreshing to read a YA novel with main characters of color whose race isn’t the focus. Though little is wrapped up in this entry in the series, potential remains for later books to better develop the lore of the strange crystals.
An occasionally muddled, overambitious foray into an X-Men–like universe.Pub Date: June 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0989105606
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Great Nation Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions.
Ellis, known for her illustrations for Colin Meloy’s Wildwood series, here riffs on the concept of “home.”
Shifting among homes mundane and speculative, contemporary and not, Ellis begins and ends with views of her own home and a peek into her studio. She highlights palaces and mansions, but she also takes readers to animal homes and a certain famously folkloric shoe (whose iconic Old Woman manages a passel of multiethnic kids absorbed in daring games). One spread showcases “some folks” who “live on the road”; a band unloads its tour bus in front of a theater marquee. Ellis’ compelling ink and gouache paintings, in a palette of blue-grays, sepia and brick red, depict scenes ranging from mythical, underwater Atlantis to a distant moonscape. Another spread, depicting a garden and large building under connected, transparent domes, invites readers to wonder: “Who in the world lives here? / And why?” (Earth is seen as a distant blue marble.) Some of Ellis’ chosen depictions, oddly juxtaposed and stripped of any historical or cultural context due to the stylized design and spare text, become stereotypical. “Some homes are boats. / Some homes are wigwams.” A sailing ship’s crew seems poised to land near a trio of men clad in breechcloths—otherwise unidentified and unremarked upon.
Visually accomplished but marred by stereotypical cultural depictions. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6529-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
A warm hug of a picture book wishing all children happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives.
A picture book filled with positive messages for young children.
From the first “I wish you” page of this picture book to the last, the author of Bedtime for Picco Puppy and other books in the Picco Puppy picture book series (2019) offers children words of encouragement and inspiration, complemented by a gifted artist’s charming illustrations. “I wish you dreams and aspirations, to spread your wings and reach for the stars,” the book begins. On the page, against a deep blue starry sky, a little brown-haired girl steadies a ladder for a blond boy in a space helmet who is reaching for the moon. Children of different races frolic in a snowy wood to illustrate “I wish you joy and laughter, to laugh long and loud until you gasp for breath.” A little Black girl in a wheelchair and a light-skinned boy share an ice cream cone on a leafy autumn day to illustrate “I wish you kindness and generosity, for no act of kindness is ever wasted, no matter how small.” Each “wish” is stated with graceful simplicity; each colorful illustration matches that tone and delights the eye. Two end-of-book features invite children to go back through the pages: “Can You Spot the Famous People?” highlights pictures of some of the book’s characters as if they are child versions of such well-known figures as Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, accompanying each name with a short bio. “Can You Spot the Dog?” identifies each dog in the book with its breed.
A warm hug of a picture book wishing all children happy, fulfilled, and meaningful lives.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-925973-12-9
Page Count: 38
Publisher: Picco Puppy
Review Posted Online: Nov. 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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