WAITING FOR GONZO

Name: WAITING FOR GONZO
Author: Dave Cousins
ISBN: 978-0-7387-4199-4

by Dave Cousins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2015

Cousins follows up his debut (15 Days Without a Head, 2013) with another tightly woven, heartwarming story of the ups and...

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Oz, aka Marcus Osbourne, faces unexpected challenges when his family relocates from London to a farmhouse in a northern village.

He starts his first day of Year Nine in a school where classmates with thick accents give him a new nickname, “Kecks,” for the girls’ underwear that spills out of the family’s laundry bag he grabbed by mistake. It’s downhill from there as Oz finds himself on the wrong side of tough-girl Isobel, known as “Psycho Skinner,” and befriended by a fantasy geek named Ryan, who participates in re-enactments of movies and books, down to the “hobbit socks” he made himself. When Oz finds out that his 17-year-old sister, Meg, is pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s baby, he starts to write down everything that’s happening to share with the child he calls Gonzo in the unlikely event that Meg will decide against termination. In a three-part message to the baby starting with “The Beginning / G minus 245,” narrator Oz frames a series of humorous events and near disasters with chapter headings like “The Life-Sucking Brick of Nonsense” as he navigates new emotional territory.

Cousins follows up his debut (15 Days Without a Head, 2013) with another tightly woven, heartwarming story of the ups and downs in the life of a teenager and his family. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-7387-4199-4

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Flux

Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

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WHERE YOU SEE YOURSELF

by Claire Forrest ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

Affirming, uplifting, and thoughtful.

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A college-bound teen with cerebral palsy learns to advocate for herself.

Even though her friends are buzzing about senior year and their college plans, Greek American Euphemia Galanos can’t muster the same enthusiasm. For Effie, an aspiring journalist, choosing a college is fraught with additional variables: Are the dorms wheelchair accessible? How easily can she navigate campus? Such concerns threaten to derail her dream of attending New York’s prestigious Prospect University, home to an excellent journalism program…and the choice of her crush, Wilder. As if Effie doesn’t have enough on her plate, she faces discrimination from Mill City High’s administration—and this time, her mother insists she manage things herself. But Effie isn’t used to speaking up, and her efforts go awry. How can she show her mom she can handle moving from Minnesota to New York if she can’t be assertive? And will she ever get the chance to tell Wilder how she feels? Forrest, also a wheelchair user with CP, explores the role of media representation in developing self-confidence and refreshingly highlights the importance of disabled peers. Readers will appreciate Effie’s conflicted, insightful introspection and appraisals of her options; those who struggle to speak up will empathize as she finds her voice. Supportive friends and family and a sweet romance add warmth. Wilder reads White; there’s some racial diversity among the supporting cast members.

Affirming, uplifting, and thoughtful. (Fiction. 13-18)

Pub Date: May 2, 2023

ISBN: 9781338813838

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SCHOOL & FRIENDSHIP | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE

- PERSPECTIVES
5 New Young Adult Novels That Embrace Disability

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WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST

by Jason Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2014

Ali, 15 going on 16, lives in Bed-Stuy with his mom, a social worker, and his little sister, Jazz, who has a knack for...

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A literary story of growing up in Brooklyn.

Ali, 15 going on 16, lives in Bed-Stuy with his mom, a social worker, and his little sister, Jazz, who has a knack for markers. He hangs out on the stoop with his two BFFs, brothers nicknamed by his sister: Noodles and Needles. Needles, the older, suffers from Tourette’s syndrome, and Noodles and Ali look out for him. In the lead plotline, the three boys crash an illegal party in the basement of a nearby brownstone and then deal with the fallout. Action notwithstanding, the story actually reads more like a character study of Ali and his sister and friends and a tender homage to this seemingly dangerous neighborhood. Even though Reynolds thoughtfully (and most likely truthfully) depicts the neighborhood as one where guns and drug transactions are seen regularly, readers don’t necessarily feel the danger due to the tender and deeply protective relationships of the characters, who are realistically if not exquisitely drawn. The plot, though compelling, takes back seat to them, and what unfolds is a moving and thought-provoking study of the connectivity among a family and friends that plays upon and defies readers’ expectations. An author worth watching. (Fiction. 12 & up) .

An author worth watching(Fiction. 12 & up)