A thrill for any reader who knows the only thing more frightening than an unopened door is being locked behind one.
Five unhappy children think their troubles are over when they step inside a mysterious house—until the house refuses to let them leave.
The kids have one thing in common: misery, caused by a variety of neurodivergent symptoms. Poppy, a white orphan living in a group home, has only one friend in the world: the dead girl she sees behind her in every mirror. In Japanese-American Azumi’s disturbing dreams, she relives the loss of her sister in the Aokighara forest and is terrified that she is losing herself as well. Not only can no one hear the overwhelmingly beautiful music in white Marcus’ red head; no one understands his desperate need to play. And as their acting career abruptly ends, brown-skinned twins Dash and Dylan are losing their grip—Dash is having nightmares about failing to save his brother, and when Dylan isn’t feeling invisible, he is having flashbacks to a trauma he can’t quite grasp. All five receive different letters offering to make their dreams come true, but when they all arrive at Larkspur, nothing greets them but endless rooms and masked, murderous ghosts—it’s one thing to survive being different, it's quite another to survive a haunting. Although the choice to equate neurodivergence with the influence of hauntings is questionable, Poblocki’s meticulously crafted narrative is chilling and reminiscent of the best Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark? terrors.
A thrill for any reader who knows the only thing more frightening than an unopened door is being locked behind one. (mobile app) (Horror. 10-15)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-92550-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A captivating book situated in present-day discourse around the refugee crisis, featuring two boys who stand by their high...
Two parallel stories, one of a Syrian boy from Aleppo fleeing war, and another of a white American boy, son of a NATO contractor, dealing with the challenges of growing up, intersect at a house in Brussels.
Ahmed lost his father while crossing the Mediterranean. Alone and broke in Europe, he takes things into his own hands to get to safety but ends up having to hide in the basement of a residential house. After months of hiding, he is discovered by Max, a boy of similar age and parallel high integrity and courage, who is experiencing his own set of troubles learning a new language, moving to a new country, and being teased at school. In an unexpected turn of events, the two boys and their new friends Farah, a Muslim Belgian girl, and Oscar, a white Belgian boy, successfully scheme for Ahmed to go to school while he remains in hiding the rest of the time. What is at stake for Ahmed is immense, and so is the risk to everyone involved. Marsh invites art and history to motivate her protagonists, drawing parallels to gentiles who protected Jews fleeing Nazi terror and citing present-day political news. This well-crafted and suspenseful novel touches on the topics of refugees and immigrant integration, terrorism, Islam, Islamophobia, and the Syrian war with sensitivity and grace.
A captivating book situated in present-day discourse around the refugee crisis, featuring two boys who stand by their high values in the face of grave risk and succeed in drawing goodwill from others. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-30757-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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