An imaginative work that effectively blends fantasy and social commentary.
A real-life version of the folk hero John Henry emerges in the Jim Crow South in von Hoffman’s speculative debut novel.
Fifteen-year-old Moses Crawford has some unusual characteristics: He’s taller than most grown men, incredibly strong, and impervious to bullets and billy clubs. These all come in handy for a Black kid growing up in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1935. They allow him to do things like save his uncle from a murderous group of men in Georgia without getting a scratch on him; he does this while wearing “a work shirt, jeans, a pair of boots,” he notes. “Afterward stories where I wore a costume and a mask. Never happened. Not then or ever. Kluxers wear masks.” Unfortunately, his father is not bulletproof like him, and he dies in an ensuing shootout. Then racists in the Georgia town take out their anger on their Black neighbors as soon as Mo and his uncle leave. There’s nothing scarier to these bigots than a Black man who can’t be brought down, and, to them, Mo’s very presence is tantamount to a declaration of war. Will he be able to use his unique abilities to prevent further violence, or will he cut his own path of destruction across the South? Poet, nonfiction writer, and former journalist von Hoffman writes in a clipped, muscular prose style over the course of this novel that suits his sensitive, often ambivalent protagonist. Here, for instance, Mo awakens to a couple’s rural poverty: “Everything they had in the world would add up to little more than nothing….Other than Uncle Stan, my father’s brother, I didn’t really know anyone who was poor, not like this.” The characters, particularly Moses, are well drawn, and aspects of Moses’ journey, such as the way it’s covered in the media and his efforts to translate his grassroots movement into a political one with the John Henry Party, may remind readers of events in our own time. Overall, it’s a complex work that engages with an era that feels simultaneously remote and frightfully contemporary.
An imaginative work that effectively blends fantasy and social commentary.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73633-170-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: 4 Dogs Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Exactly what the title promises.
A grieving teen’s devotion to romance films might ruin her chances at actual romance.
Liz Buxbaum has always adored rom-coms, not least for helping her still feel close to her screenwriter mother, who died when she was little. Liz hopes that her senior year might turn into a real-life romantic fantasy, as an old crush has moved back to town, cuter and nicer than ever. Surely she can get Michael to ask her to prom. If only Wes, the annoying boy next door, would help her with her scheming! This charming, fluffy concoction manages to pack into one goofy plot every conceivable trope, from fake dating to the makeover to the big misunderstanding. Creative, quirky, daydreaming Liz is just shy of an annoying stereotype, saved by a dry wit and unresolved grief and anger. Wes makes for a delightful bad boy with a good heart, and supporting characters—including a sassy best friend, a perfect popular rival, even a (not really) evil stepmother—all get the opportunity to transcend their roles. The only villain here is Liz’s lovelorn imagination, provoking her into foolish lies that cause actual hurt feelings; but she is sufficiently self-aware to make amends just in time for the most important trope of all: a blissfully happy ending. All characters seem to be White by default.
Exactly what the title promises. (Romance. 12-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6762-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
