Perceptive but uneven.
A seventh grader grapples with the onset of puberty.
Eleven-year-old Piper Franklin, a gifted white girl, has taken puberty blockers since age 7 to delay precocious puberty. Now, her endocrinologist has cleared her to stop the injections. But Piper has no intention of entering puberty. Hormones and periods will only distract her from the upcoming academic decathlon, and she and BFF Tallulah—a girl from her gifted program who’s Black and has ADHD—are determined to win. Piper’s baby sister is distracting enough, frequently demanding Mom’s attention. Worse, womanhood means being weighed down by myriad indignities, something Piper dubs the Wordless Chain and struggles to name. Even metaphorical math—Piper’s attempt to explain emotions via mathematical concepts—can’t make Mom understand her reluctance to start puberty, and tensions rise despite her stepfather’s mediation. But as Piper develops a crush on Ivan, a Black trans boy from her support group for kids “having a tough time with puberty,” and hangs with her supportive older half sister, growing up seems more inviting…except for that Wordless Chain. Language for said Chain comes extremely late, and readers will share Piper’s increasing frustration as she struggles to articulate her dilemma. Ivan’s and Tallulah’s dialogue sparks eloquent insights into trans identity and neurodivergence (respectively), and Piper’s interspersed notes on the metaphorical math of friendship and family are thought-provoking. Unfortunately, the resolution of one major plot point strains credulity and echoes the trope of a disabled character inspiring nondisabled people.
Perceptive but uneven. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 19, 2024
ISBN: 9780062996664
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best.
Friendly curiosity and a gift for naming earn a polar bear an assortment of (mostly animal) friends, adventures, mishaps, and discoveries.
Arriving at a northern ocean, Duane spies a shipwreck. Swimming out to investigate, he meets its lone occupant, C.C., a learned snowy owl whose noble goal is acquiring knowledge to apply “toward the benefit of all.” Informing Duane that he’s a polar bear, she points out a nearby cave that might suit him—it even has a mattress. Adding furnishings from the wreck—the grandfather clock’s handless, but who needs to tell time when it’s always now?—he meets a self-involved musk ox, entranced by his own reflection, who’s delighted when Duane names him “Handsome.” As he comes to understand, then appreciate their considerable diversity, Duane brings out the best in his new friends. C.C., who has difficulty reading emotions and dislikes being touched, evokes the autism spectrum. Magic, a bouncy, impulsive arctic fox, manifests ADHD. Major Puff, whose proud puffin ancestry involves courageous retreats from danger, finds a perfect companion in Twitch, a risk-aware, common-sensical hare. As illustrated, Sun Girl, a human child, appears vaguely Native, and Squint, a painter, white, but they’re sui generis: The Canadian author avoids referencing human culture. The art conveys warmth in an icy setting; animal characters suggest beloved stuffed toys, gently reinforcing the message that friendship founded on tolerance breeds comfort and safety.
Quirky and imaginative—postmodern storytelling at its best. (Animal fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3341-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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