The eighth-graders who appeared in The Trouble with Lemons (1991) are back in a stronger second novel, less freighted with the life conflicts of its adult characters. The theme here is comic, hinging on the pickles that Tyler (privileged only child of a widowed actress) and his slower, marginally more sensible friend Lymie (scion of a farm family in Wakefield, in upstate New York) keep getting into—notably, after carving stone heads in imitation of Badoglio, a revered sculptor who once worked in Wakefield. Teased about their handiwork, the boys throw the two heads into a river, whence they are dredged up and misidentified- -by eminent art critics and community luminaries—as genuine Badoglios. Hayes makes good use of the boys' ensuing moral dilemma, and even better use of its comic possibilities, spinning them out through several surprising reversals. Other events- -especially a Halloween encounter with a vicious neighbor who overreacts to a prank—establish the boys' propensity for trouble, but divert attention from the primary story. Other strengths here are also undermined by faults: groundskeeper Chuckie is a refreshing blend of big brother and father figure to Tyler, but Lymie's apparent talents (consistently misrepresented by his narrator friend) are out of focus; there's some laudably fresh language, and much of the dialogue is snappy and realistic, but it goes on and on. A funny book with real insights, but much in need of pruning. (Fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-87923-881-X
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Godine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1992
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a...
Han’s leisurely paced, somewhat somber narrative revisits several beach-house summers in flashback through the eyes of now 15-year-old Isabel, known to all as Belly.
Belly measures her growing self by these summers and by her lifelong relationship with the older boys, her brother and her mother’s best friend’s two sons. Belly’s dawning awareness of her sexuality and that of the boys is a strong theme, as is the sense of summer as a separate and reflective time and place: Readers get glimpses of kisses on the beach, her best friend’s flirtations during one summer’s visit, a first date. In the background the two mothers renew their friendship each year, and Lauren, Belly’s mother, provides support for her friend—if not, unfortunately, for the children—in Susannah’s losing battle with breast cancer. Besides the mostly off-stage issue of a parent’s severe illness there’s not much here to challenge most readers—driving, beer-drinking, divorce, a moment of surprise at the mothers smoking medicinal pot together.
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a diversion. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: May 5, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6823-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2009
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK TO SCREEN
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An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss.
It’s 1983, and 13-year-old Indian American Reha feels caught between two worlds.
Monday through Friday, she goes to a school where she stands out for not being White but where she has a weekday best friend, Rachel, and does English projects with potential crush Pete. On the weekends, she’s with her other best friend, Sunita (Sunny for short), at gatherings hosted by her Indian community. Reha feels frustrated that her parents refuse to acknowledge her Americanness and insist on raising her with Indian values and habits. Then, on the night of the middle school dance, her mother is admitted to the hospital, and Reha’s world is split in two again: this time, between hospital and home. Suddenly she must learn not just how to be both Indian and American, but also how to live with her mother’s leukemia diagnosis. The sections dealing with Reha’s immigrant identity rely on oft-told themes about the overprotectiveness of immigrant parents and lack the nuance found in later pages. Reha’s story of her evolving relationships with her parents, however, feels layered and real, and the scenes in which Reha must grapple with the possible loss of a parent are beautifully and sensitively rendered. The sophistication of the text makes it a valuable and thought-provoking read even for those older than the protagonist.
An intimate novel that beautifully confronts grief and loss. (Verse novel. 11-15)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-304742-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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