Mystery, romance and insider music-industry detail distinguish this intriguing 1960s coming-of-age story.
An aspiring songwriter accepts a summer job with a music publisher in 1963 New York City, where she learns about her family, her friends and herself.
Expected to become a lawyer like her mother, father and brother, 16-year-old strong-willed Justice Green, known as JJ, wants to write songs that will “make people believe in possibilities and dreams.” Hired by Good Music Publishing to perform office work in exchange for feedback on her songs, JJ finds herself in the heart of the music-publishing industry, where she encounters her estranged uncle Bernie, an infamous industry mogul who takes her under his wing. When JJ meets Luke Silver, son of Bernie’s deceased former partner, they begin collaborating on a song. After befriending a burned-out African-American singer named Dulcie Brown, JJ’s devastated when Dulcie dies under suspicious circumstances, prompting her to investigate Dulcie’s past. JJ narrates her story, allowing readers to share her shock when the troubling truth about the twisted relationship that connects Bernie, Luke’s father and Dulcie is finally revealed. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Weil, songwriter of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” provides period detail about the fledgling rock-’n’-roll industry that adds verisimilitude to JJ and Luke’s surprising journey of discovery.
Mystery, romance and insider music-industry detail distinguish this intriguing 1960s coming-of-age story. (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61695-356-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Soho
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...
A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.
The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-173093-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills.
A group of teens stranded in a snowstorm discovers a murderer in their midst.
While traveling on the highway to a state theater competition, Nell and her friends Min, Raven, Adam, and Jermaine are caught in a dangerous blizzard. Their teacher, Mrs. McElroy, who is driving the minivan, decides to stop for the night at the run-down and shady-looking Travel Inn and Out. The motel is labyrinthine and spooky, with dingy corridors and walls adorned with moldering kitsch. Nell and the gang meet another group of kids who are also stranded by the storm, making fast friends. A game of Two Truths and a Lie starts out flirty and fun but devolves into something more sinister when one slip of paper reads “I like to watch people die,” and “I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” The snow falls and the winds howl, and soon power and cell service are lost, cutting off the motel patrons from the outside world. As the first victim is discovered and the body count begins to grow, the terror becomes palpable. Everyone at the motel seems to have an insidious secret: Will Nell be able to uncover the killer before they strike again? An homage to Agatha Christie, Henry’s locked-room mystery is tautly plotted, with quick-moving nail-biting chapters, relatable characters, and a deftly wrought setting that paradoxically manages to feel both claustrophobic and sprawling. Nell is White; there is diversity among the secondary characters.
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills. (Mystery. 12-16)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32333-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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