Best for dog lovers, hockey fans, and elite athletes.
An 11-year-old elite hockey player struggles with multiple real-world issues while sidelined from pursuing his dream of playing in the NHL.
Conor MacRae, who is half-white, half-Japanese, and wise beyond his years, lives with his dad, Keith, a white cop, and his dog, Sinbad. Conor’s mom died many years ago, and he is estranged from his Japanese grandparents. When Sinbad is diagnosed with cancer, the treatments are so costly that Conor cuts back on ice time to help save money. The list of adult responsibilities that Conor manages is formidable for such a young boy, and the more time he spends off the ice, the more he notices the tougher parts of life. Kadohata weaves a parallel between Sinbad’s cancer and a concussion Conor suffers in the second half of the book, with boy and dog functioning at less than 100 percent. The dog is not only companion and protector, but a beloved comfort in a tough world, a relationship as tenderly realized as that between Conor and his dad. The Korean traditions of his best friend, Jae-won, highlight Conor’s distance from his Japanese heritage. As the season progresses, Conor grows in maturity and strength, learning more from mistakes than successes. Strong readers will enjoy a robust identity story that takes an unvarnished look at life. Zorat’s chapter-head illustrations help set the tone.
Best for dog lovers, hockey fans, and elite athletes. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4661-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Dec. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
Chilling, difficult, and definitely not for readers without a solid understanding of the Holocaust despite the relatively...
A young boy grows up in Adolf Hitler’s mountain home in Austria.
Seven-year-old Pierrot Fischer and his frail French mother live in Paris. His German father, a bitter ex-soldier, returned to Germany and died there. Pierrot’s best friend is Anshel Bronstein, a deaf Jewish boy. After his mother dies, he lives in an orphanage, until his aunt Beatrix sends for him to join her at the Berghof mountain retreat in Austria, where she is housekeeper for Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. It is here that he becomes ever more enthralled with Hitler and grows up, proudly wearing the uniform of the Hitler Youth, treating others with great disdain, basking in his self-importance, and then committing a terrible act of betrayal against his aunt. He witnesses vicious acts against Jews, and he hears firsthand of plans for extermination camps. Yet at war’s end he maintains that he was only a child and didn’t really understand. An epilogue has him returning to Paris, where he finds Anshel and begins a kind of catharsis. Boyne includes real Nazi leaders and historical details in his relentless depiction of Pierrot’s inevitable corruption and self-delusion. As with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006), readers both need to know what Pierrot disingenuously doesn’t and are expected to accept his extreme naiveté, his total lack of awareness and comprehension in spite of what is right in front of him.
Chilling, difficult, and definitely not for readers without a solid understanding of the Holocaust despite the relatively simple reading level. (Historical fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: June 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62779-030-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
For anyone who needs a reminder that they are perfect just as they are.
Growing up with a unicorn horn hasn’t been easy for 13-year-old Jewel Conrad; she just wants to be normal.
So when she finds a doctor in California who might be able to remove it, she jumps at the chance. There are only two problems: She hasn’t told her mother yet, and Carmen, the real live unicorn who follows her around, is getting distressed over Jewel’s deep unhappiness with her appearance. The novel’s textured representation includes an examination of how Jewel’s poverty affects her relationship with the world, including living with a single mom in low-income housing in Georgia; sharing a bedroom with her disabled grandmother; and her willingness, born out of desperation, to consider free surgery in exchange for being part of a doctor’s experimental trial. Healthy and fulfilling friendships are contrasted with more shallow, toxic ones as well as some bullying issues at school. The first-person perspective excels at showing Jewel’s internal thoughts and misconceptions. Her hobbies of drawing and reading graphic novels are woven naturally throughout the story as a whole, adding to the richness of characterization. The tension slowly builds to an adventurous climax and a heartwarming ending. Ultimately this is an ode to being different that does not gloss over the difficult aspects of standing out, especially in middle school. Main characters follow a White default.
For anyone who needs a reminder that they are perfect just as they are. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-79720-305-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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