From two veteran nonfiction series authors, one of six volumes in a wide-ranging survey of the paranormal. Though they admit that hoaxes exist and caution readers to be skeptical, the attitude here is generally uncritical—``[Does] real life seem a little dull? If you think so, you've been missing lots of good stuff. Life is full of mysteries and marvels.'' They devote a chapter to scientific research into clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and the like; another to Uri Geller, who bent spoons without seeming to touch them, and passed a number of carefully structured tests; and conclude with advice for readers who might want to conduct their own experiments. Recalling Past Lives (ISBN 0-89490-458-2) covers not only reincarnation and age regression under hypnosis but also research subjects' (generally bleak) visions of the future. Examples in both books are drawn from cited popular sources; most occurred within the last two centuries. Acceptable, if unspectacular, companions to Daniel Cohen's many books in the field. Glossary; reading list; index. Illustrations not seen. (Nonfiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: July 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-89490-455-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Enslow
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1993
Norbert Meaney earns his moniker by throwing horses through windows and terrorizing children—because, he boasts, he has no heart. To save their lives and town, young Gregory and Maw (a fiery-tempered crow who has raised the lad) propose taking The Mean One back in time to find his missing organ. The humor here is in contrasting Gregory—likable, gentle, enjoying a close relationship with his feathered parent—and the rank, bellowing, hairy giant. But that's not enough to carry a story of this length, and Meaney never seems all that nasty anyway; in the end, heart recovered (he lost it at 13 to a pretty classmate), he charges off to bathe and right all the wrongs he's committed. An aimless and loose-jointed yarn, but mildly funny. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-395-60821-X
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1992
Gary, 12, idolizes his vital, affectionate uncle Rob and is devastated when his mother tells him that Rob is HIV-positive. Though this is clearly a novel with a message, Durant imparts information without lecturing, surrounds Gary with helpful, sympathetic people, and allows him the common sense to deal with his feelings of denial, anger, and confusion when he learns that Rob is gay, and with grief after his quick deterioration and death. Shy and uncomfortable around girls (particularly a certain classmate), Gary worries about his own sexual identity, especially after his mother makes the (debatable) assertion that sexual orientation is formed before birth; but Rob, in his last lucid moment, gives him a reassuring sense of perspective. Despite some oversimplification of characters and issues—not to mention several instances of crude schoolboy banter—in the end the author has everyone behave with maturity, meanwhile offering helpful suggestions about reacting and remembering when AIDS strikes down a friend. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-689-31764-6
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1992
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