Elish (The Trail of Tears, not reviewed, etc.) deftly delivers the humorous side of the horrible—that’s eighth-grade life—told as a modern-day fairytale overflowing with adolescent hormones. Matt Greene, an affluent New York City boy who attends private school, has been best friends with Keith Livingston since they were little kids. Keith is everything Matt longs to be: tall, athletic, irresistible to girls, and extremely handsome. It’s enough to make Matt, who at five foot one and a half has never had a girlfriend, feel darned inferior. Finally, after a series of events during which Keith completely outshines his best friend, Matt’s J.Q. or “Jealousy Quotient” is so high that he screams into the night, wishing Keith ill. A homeless man overhears Matt and warns him, “Wishes that strong can come true.” And much to Matt’s surprise, then remorseful horror, Keith starts fouling out on all fronts, causing Matt to worry that somehow, through the vehicle of the homeless man, he’s responsible. At the same time, Matt’s life unexpectedly improves, a welcome—yet guilt-inducing—turn of affairs. Elish perfectly captures the psychological rawness of eighth grade—the agony of picking the right chair to sit on during a date, the dreadful cracking soprano voice that emerges at precisely the wrong moment—lessening the sting by making the reader chuckle with recognition. This pop novel has no great lessons to impart and will be read and enjoyed without many afterthoughts. Still, it’s consistently amusing, fast-paced, and fun. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-84386-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Richard Jackson/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
Born in 1920 with cerebral palsy and dismissed by ignorant doctors as feeble-minded, Petey Corbin spends all but the first two years of his long life institutionalized, his world barely larger than the walls of an asylum ward or, much later, nursing home. Within those walls, further imprisoned in an uncontrollable, atrophied body, he nonetheless experiences joy and love, sorrow, loss, and triumph as intensely as anyone on the outside. Able to communicate only with rudimentary sounds and facial expressions, he makes a series of friends through the years; as a very old man in a 1990s setting, he comes into contact with Trevor, a teenager who defends the old man against a trio of bullies, and remains a loyal companion through his final illness. This is actually two books in one, as with a midstream switch in point-of-view as the story becomes Trevor’s, focusing on his inner growth as he overcomes his initial disgust to become Petey’s friend. Mikaelsen portrays the places in which Petey is kept in (somewhat) less horrific terms than Kate Seago did in Matthew Unstrung (1998), and surrounds him with good-hearted people (even Petey’s parents are drawn sympathetically—they are plunged into poverty during his first two years by the bills his care entails). There are no accusations here, and despite some overly sentimentalized passages, the message comes through that every being deserves care, respect, and a chance to make a difference. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-7868-0426-2
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1998
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