Twining history, speculation, and atmospheric writing, the author delivers a good old-fashioned ghost story.
Poblocki returns with another eerie vision of lingering spirits (The Book of Bad Things, 2014, etc.).
Josie and Eli, both about to start seventh grade, meet each other for the first time on a dock in Maine, boarding the ferry that will take them and their families to far-off Stone’s Throw Island, where their siblings are to be married. As the only teenagers among the pre-wedding guests, it’s natural that they decide to explore the island, first separately, then together. Caught up in the wedding plans, the adults don’t notice anything amiss—they’re focused on the approaching weather; a storm is brewing that threatens the festivities. But Josie and Eli notice strange cries from a crypt that’s submerged at high tide, a girl who appears and then disappears from Josie’s room, and the strange way that the island’s caretakers are behaving. At first disturbing, then frightening, Poblocki’s tale plays on stories about the German U-boats that plied the coastal waters during World War II. 1942 diary entries written by a local girl flesh out the history and add to the suspense.
Twining history, speculation, and atmospheric writing, the author delivers a good old-fashioned ghost story. (Suspense. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-64556-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
Well-educated American boys from privileged families have abundant options for college and career. For Chiko, their Burmese counterpart, there are no good choices. There is never enough to eat, and his family lives in constant fear of the military regime that has imprisoned Chiko’s physician father. Soon Chiko is commandeered by the army, trained to hunt down members of the Karenni ethnic minority. Tai, another “recruit,” uses his streetwise survival skills to help them both survive. Meanwhile, Tu Reh, a Karenni youth whose village was torched by the Burmese Army, has been chosen for his first military mission in his people’s resistance movement. How the boys meet and what comes of it is the crux of this multi-voiced novel. While Perkins doesn’t sugarcoat her subject—coming of age in a brutal, fascistic society—this is a gentle story with a lot of heart, suitable for younger readers than the subject matter might suggest. It answers the question, “What is it like to be a child soldier?” clearly, but with hope. (author’s note, historical note) (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-58089-328-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
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