by Denise Gosliner Orenstein ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2017
This story of a healing relationship between a traumatized girl and a pony needs some mucking out to make it shine.
An 11-year-old white girl’s bond with a mischievous Shetland pony helps her heal from the trauma of losing her mother.
When Yonder’s mother was killed in an automobile accident four years earlier, her orchard-worker white father started drinking heavily, and Yonder stopped speaking out loud. Now, Yonder locks her father in his bedroom every evening because she is afraid he, too, will disappear from her life, walking out in a drunken haze. Bullied and unable to speak up for herself, Yonder begins skipping school and makes friends with a pudgy Shetland pony she names Dirt. Horrified when Dirt’s owner offers him for sale for horsemeat, Yonder hides the pony in her house. When a social worker sees the state of Yonder’s home life, Yonder is sent to a foster home—and promptly runs away to find Dirt. While the story’s essence works, the delivery lacks polish. Overexplanation and frequent adverbs may exasperate readers who like to figure things out for themselves. Yonder’s first-person narration occasionally strikes a prim middle-aged note (“Every child should experience it. I highly recommend playing hooky”) that rings false, and the use of speaking-themed names (Mutter Street, Bellow Avenue, Trudy Trumpet, Mrs. Prattle) feels forced.
This story of a healing relationship between a traumatized girl and a pony needs some mucking out to make it shine. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: July 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-92585-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
BOOK REVIEW
by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
BOOK REVIEW
by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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