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BOX OF SHOCKS

Name: BOX OF SHOCKS
Author: Chris McMahen
ISBN: 978-1-55469-917-9

by Chris McMahen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2011

A light and capable read, despite (or while glossing over) some serious themes.

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Oliver loves his parents, but they worry about everything.

They are even afraid of the tiny rash he found on his elbow. In desperation, Oliver comes up with a "spectacularly brilliant top-secret plan." He will seek out daring situations—doing things that would certainly shock his parents if they ever found out. In each adventure (his exploits are never too serious), he takes a memento and puts it into what he calls his Box of Shocks. But one thing throws Oliver for a loop. While he is away for the summer, his parents move into the house next door and his Box of Shocks is left behind. In multiple attempts to get the box back, Oliver learns about Diggory, the boy who now lives in his old house—and revelations of his family life are more shocking than anything the box could ever hold. Writing in an immediate first-person perspective, McMahen focuses solely on Oliver; Diggory is peripheral and vague, save for an awkward school scene late in the narrative in which hints of emotional abuse finally slip out. Diggory vanishes when his parents skip town, and readers are left wondering about his fate, but Oliver grows and comes into his own.

A light and capable read, despite (or while glossing over) some serious themes. (Fiction. 8-12)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-55469-917-9

Page Count: 168

Publisher: Orca

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.

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An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.

Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.

Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)

Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020

Categories:

CHILDREN'S FAMILY | CHILDREN'S SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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A WOLF CALLED WANDER

by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019

A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.

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Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.

Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.

A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)