Divorce separated Rigel from her dad and beloved home in Alaska’s remote interior; now living in Connecticut with her mother and sisters, she clings to his promise: If she sticks it out for a year, she can return.
Willow, 14; Rigel, 11; and Izzy, 5, were raised off the grid in a two-room cabin without electricity or indoor plumbing and were educated by mail—a life their parents, Bear and Lila, chose. Living with Lila’s mother suits Willow and Izzy. Grandma’s nice, her home’s amenities (a TV room, appliances, four bathrooms!) are amazing, and school is fun. Rigel, on the other hand, detests the noise; the orange, light-polluted night sky; and the fake, plastic, urban world her father also despises. At school she feels like an exotic outsider, a target for a posse of mean girls. When her one tentative friendship sputters, Rigel despairs until she befriends an injured crow behind the school. Aware that taming wild animals puts them at risk, Rigel still can’t resist feeding and naming it. Blueberry reminds her of Alaska’s ravens and provides companionship when Bear’s postcards and calls taper off. Rigel’s family is White; a Native Alaskan community and several secondary characters of color are respectfully, if briefly, portrayed. The clichéd mean girls excepted, characters are believable and engaging. Rigel herself—homesick for her old life, uncertain (and ambivalent) about how to navigate this new one—is sure to resonate with young, housebound readers.
A likable, timely debut. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4380-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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Cooler-than-cool newcomer Styx Malone takes the more-sheltered brothers Caleb and Bobby Gene on a mischievous, path-altering, summer adventure of a lifetime as they embrace the extraordinary possibilities beyond the everyday in rural Indiana.
Readers may think an adventure such as they’ll find here wouldn’t be possible in the present day; this story takes place outside, where nature, know-how, creativity, and curiosity rule. Creeks, dirt roads, buried treasures, and more make up the landscape in Sutton, Indiana. Younger brother Caleb narrates, letting readers know from the outset that he’s tired of his dad’s racially tinged determination that they be safely ordinary: “I don’t want to be ordinary. I want to be…the other thing.” With Styx Malone around, Caleb and Bobby Gene will sure figure out what that “other thing” can become. The three black adolescents are enchanted with the miracle of the Great Escalator Trade, the mythic one-thing-leads-to-another bartering scheme that just might get them farther from Sutton than they’ve ever dreamed. As they get deeper and deeper into cahoots with Styx, they begin to notice that Styx harbors some secret ambitions of his own, further twisting this grand summer journey. “How do you move through the world knowing that you’re special, when no one else can see it?” begs the soul of this novel.
Heartening and hopeful, a love letter to black male youth grasping the desires within them, absorbing the worlds around them, striving to be more otherwise than ordinary. Please share. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1595-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new...
14
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How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.
Living in a "domain" of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human—except Ivan does not think much of humans. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist. Fittingly, Ivan narrates his tale in short, image-rich sentences and acute, sometimes humorous, observations that are all the more heartbreaking for their simple delivery. His sorrow is palpable, but he stoically endures the cruelty of humans until Ruby the baby elephant is abused. In a pivotal scene, Ivan finally admits his domain is a cage, and rather than let Ruby live and die in grim circumstances, he promises to save her. In order to express his plea in a painting, Ivan must bravely face buried memories of the lush jungle, his family and their brutal murder, which is recounted in a brief, powerful chapter sure to arouse readers’ passions. In a compelling ending, the more challenging question Applegate poses is whether or not Ivan will remember what it was like to be a gorilla. Spot art captures poignant moments throughout.
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new generation of advocates. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-199225-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS
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