Only the most hardened Scrooge could completely resist this collection of yuletide confections.
Gee (The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society, 2013, etc.) returns to Avalon, Ill., population 4,000, for a dozen stories about holiday spirit and random acts of kindness.
These 12 relentlessly cheery tales create a portrait of a small town where good deeds are contagious, food is the bearer of cozy memories, and no one is reclusive or estranged for long. In “Lemon Creams,” Melvin O’Malley, a crotchety senior at Harmony Homes, resists the idea of Christmas until his neighbor suffers a fall. Then he suddenly realizes that, like his favorite childhood lemon creams, life may be bittersweet, but he can make it sweeter for others. In what becomes a recurring theme in these stories, a cynical Scrooge figure transforms into a jolly Santa. In “Gift Wrapped,” an undercover reporter finds that “the spirit of giving that crosses all faiths and customs” is thriving, even amid the town’s bustling, competitive consumerism. Townspeople abandon their grudges and petty squabbles and instead come together to make Avalon better. In “Room at the Tea Salon,” a newcomer proposes a crowdfunding solution to the independent bookstore’s financial woes. In these stories, nothing impedes a heartwarming conclusion—not poverty, loneliness, cancer, a sick child or a father serving overseas. As a result, many of the tidy, change-of-heart endings seem a bit sudden; could a bulimic really get over her food issues within a week? The collection seems to prioritize breadth over depth; characterization is particularly shallow, perhaps assuming that readers are already familiar with Avalon’s residents from previous books. Every wintry cliché is here: sledding, cocoa, carolers, ribbon-wrapped cookie stacks (like those featured in the impeccable cover image), the last line of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” and even a character named Virginia who stubbornly believes in Christmas miracles. Yet the Dickensian echoes are subtle and pleasant, including an unexpected inheritance and anonymous benefactors donating free turkeys and a year’s worth of mortgage payments. Fans of women’s food-and-crafting fiction will relish these stories. After all, their “pay it forward” message is appropriate any time of year. (Two more seasonal offerings are planned: An Avalon Valentine and An Avalon Summer.)
Only the most hardened Scrooge could completely resist this collection of yuletide confections.Pub Date: Dec. 18, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 149
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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