Paisley Hanover is on the fringe of Pleasant Hill High’s popular crowd, aka the Pops. Trying to cement her social status, she signs up for the Pop elective Yearbook, but ends up in the Unpop Drama. Befriending the Unpops in her class, she attempts to straddle the boundaries between the two groups. When the Pops predictably bully some Unpops, Paisley becomes furious. Under a pseudonym, Miss UnPleasant, Paisley starts a socially aware anonymous column for the school paper. Fueled by her newfound cause, Paisley decides to run for school president, but will she be able to maintain her secret and fight her cause at the same time? Included after the novel is her “Not Book,” a clever addendum that follows her antics (though it may have been more effective juxtaposed alongside the narrative). Spunky and fun for the most part, Tuttle’s tale offers formulaic social commentary, which starts with a bang and ends with a bit of a whimper. Flaws aside, however, Paisley is a feisty and compelling heroine to whom female readers will respond. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8037-3342-2
Page Count: 356
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
A comprehensive, up-to-date, well-balanced look at our industrialized society's poisoning of the air we breathe. Making good use of research she did for previous books on more specific topics, Gay covers a whole range of problems: urban smog (even in places considered clean), acid rain, global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, chemical poisons, radioactive pollution, and hazardous indoor air. She discusses the nature of each (including views of those who don't think it is a problem), how it came to public attention, and its damaging effects, tying them all to global concerns (particularly population issues and problems of Third World countries) and presenting mitigating solutions on both social and individual levels. The b&w photos and diagrams are well keyed to the text. An excellent resource. Helpful glossary; source notes; bibliography; list of organizations to contact; index. (Nonfiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-531-13002-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1991
A noted author (Summer of My German Soldier, 1973) depicts the tragic effects of homophobia, with results that are more polemical than literary. Carla, high-school-age daughter of the feisty, liberal librarian in a small Arkansas town, is overwhelmingly attracted to Andy, as much because of his all-American lifestyle as his handsome good looks. She's even willing to overlook his vicious harassment of a gay couple until, in a brutally vivid scene, he and some of his friends torture and drown one of them. Eyes opened, Carla steps forward as chief witness at a trial that results in a manslaughter conviction and probation for all. At the close, Stephan Jones' surviving partner extracts a uniquely apt revenge. Unfortunately, Greene's empathetic depiction of the gay couple and her powerful arguments concerning the role of religion in gay persecution are undermined by an awkward, florid style with abruptly shifting points of view and a tendency to tell rather than show. A story with a significant theme, but without the artistic distinction of the author's early books. (Fiction. 14+)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-553-07437-7
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
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