Thirteen-year-old Scott wants a place to belong, just like the abandoned dog he befriends one summer.
Ever since Scott’s mother died seven years ago, he has been deaf. A skilled lip reader, he communicates with his father using American Sign Language, but when his father leaves him with his stern grandmother in order to take an extended business trip, he struggles to connect. The stray dog becomes solace, traveling with Scott when he is then sent to live with an estranged uncle. Some might see Scott’s condition as conversion deafness, but this is not a book about the experience of living with this rare disorder, never named in the book. It is a book about a boy who becomes deaf after trauma, then is cured of his deafness as if by magic with a second trauma. Early in the story, Scott wishes that God would give him back his hearing. Instead of learning to accept his hearing loss, he is granted his wish. Scott’s use of ASL is depicted as a crutch that keeps him from bravely using his voice. In addition to this overused and offensive depiction of deafness, the narrative’s pace and tone are uneven. Watson raises the stakes exponentially in the last act, and the ending is surprisingly tragic. Scott and all the important characters are presumed white.
Authentic depictions of Deaf child characters are vanishingly few; this does not add to that small number. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947159-30-3
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Red Chair Press
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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A nuanced novel about a neurodiverse preteen’s political and social awakening by a Pura Belpré Honor–winning author.
Sixth grader Emilia Rosa Torres sometimes has a hard time keeping up with schoolwork and concentrating on one thing at a time, but her software-developer mother and superinvolved abuelita help her keep on task. Days before her father’s return to their Atlanta suburb from his most recent deployment, her mother goes on a business trip, leaving the middle schooler to juggle his mood swings, her friend troubles, and her looming assignments all on her own. When a social studies project opens her eyes to injustices past and present, Emilia begins to find her voice and use it to make an impact on her community. Writing with sensitivity and respectful complexity, Cartaya tackles weighty issues, such as immigration, PTSD, and microaggressions, through the lens of a budding tinkerer and activist who has ADHD. The members of this Cuban American family don’t all practice the same religion, with Emilia’s Catholic grandmother faithfully attending Mass multiple times a week and the protagonist’s mother celebrating her culture’s Yoruba roots with Santería. Conversations on race and gender crop up through the narrative as Emilia’s grandmother likes to emphasize her family’s European heritage—Emilia can pass as white, with her fair complexion, light eyes and auburn hair. All of these larger issues are effortlessly woven in with skill and humor, as is the Spanish her family easily mixes with English.
A pitch-perfect middle-grade novel that insightfully explores timely topics with authenticity and warmth. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-451-47972-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: April 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
Middle school students contend with standardized tests.
Flawed and gifted in equal amounts, Natalie, Randi, Trevor, Mark, Gavin, and Scott, whether they know it or not, are all looking for solutions. Multiple points of view within the conceit of an investigation of a standardized-test cheating scheme focus on each student’s personal, social, and familial issues, tackled in different ways with support from their teachers and friends. However, many of the fixes are formulaic or temporary—for example, though they’ve made friendships or improved in reading, there are no plans in place for the kids with behavioral or learning disorders—and readers will have to think outside of the book and past the happy ending to realize that the problems haven’t been fully solved. While the negative impact of standardized tests on students is addressed provocatively, the sometimes-facile treatment of other problems—an abusive brother, parental judgement and criticism, relative poverty, ethical conundrums, friendlessness, dyslexia, impulse control—lends the book a superficial air. (Race is not an issue explored, as the book seems to subscribe to the white default.) Still, readers will be drawn in by the lively voices and eventful lives of these likable and engaging students and may gain some insight and empathy into the plights of others.
An introduction to teen social and emotional issues that takes care not to delve too deeply into the darker side of things. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93825-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Categories: CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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