A highly visual debut memoir from Dempsey spanning his pre- to early adolescent years in urban Ohio.
Dempsey illuminates the steep uphill scramble he had as a young man in a bad neighborhood. The memoir opens cinematically on a night of petty stealing, which escalated to the sort of theft that exposed young Donny to violent retribution. Donny attempted to guard himself, his younger brothers and his canine companion, Benji, from the string of hothead men his mother—the eponymous Betty—welcomed into the family’s rotating rental houses. In addition to fending off soul savers from the church Betty attended in order to run her scams, Donny turned down invitations to participate in crime more difficult than theft. Most of the book’s sequences—a teacher’s good-hearted but ultimately futile efforts to defend Donny from a bully—efficiently reveal the wit and determination, not to mention anger, that helped Donny survive. Other scenes, including a detailed account of the young author and his friend Rupe killing flies, register more as isolated anecdotes. Neither alarmist nor self-pitying, the memoir sees Donny through mounting losses of his sense of safety, his friends, his sanity-saving dog and his proximity to his brothers. While this account certainly couldn’t be called feel-good, it also isn’t altogether bleak. Early in the book, Donny poses a question to himself: “Would I wind up toothless, clueless and broke because of heredity—or because of where and how we lived?” Determined not to consider either factor an excuse, as a preteen boy he decided that, despite his abuse and neglect, he would choose better for himself. By turns heartrending and humorous, the book’s main events are accompanied by resonant dialogue that reveals the speakers’ natures. Distinguishing his from similar accounts, Dempsey’s discipline as a writer lends the real-life tale the feel of a fictional page-turner.
In scene after vivid scene, Dempsey presents his inspiring true story with accomplished style.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2013
ISBN: 978-0988439016
Page Count: 436
Publisher: Dream of Things
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A novel tells the story of two spirited girls who set out to save a lame foal in 1952.
Mary, age 12, lacks muscle control of her legs and must use a wheelchair. Her life is constantly interrupted by trips with her widower father to assorted doctors, all of whom have failed to help her. Mary tolerates the treatments, hoping to one day walk unassisted, but her true passion involves horses. Possessing a library filled with horse books, she loves watching and drawing the animals at a neighboring farm. She longs to own one herself. But her father, overprotective due to her disability and his own lingering grief over Mary’s dead mother, makes her keep her distance. Mary befriends Laura, the emotionally neglected daughter of the wealthy neighboring farm owners, and the two share secret buggy rides. Both girls are attracted to Illusion, a beautiful red bay filly on the farm. Mary learns that Illusion is to be put down by a veterinarian because of a lame leg. Horrified, she decides to talk to the barn manager about the horse (“Isn’t it okay for her to live even if she’s not perfect? I think she deserves a chance”). Soon, Mary and Laura attempt to raise money to save Illusion. At the same time, Mary begins to gain control of her legs thanks to water therapy and secret therapeutic riding with Laura. There is indeed a great deal of poignancy in a story of a girl with a disability fighting to defend the intrinsic value of a lame animal. But this book, the first installment of the Dream Horse Adventure Series, would be twice as touching if Mary interacted with Illusion more. In the tale’s opening, she watches the foal from afar, but she actually spends very little time with the filly she tries so hard to protect. This turns out to be a strange development given the degree to which the narrative relies on her devotion. Count (Selah’s Sweet Dream, 2015) draws Mary and Laura in broad but believable strokes, defined mainly by their unrelenting pluckiness in the face of adversity. While the work tackles disability, death, and grief, Mary’s and Laura’s environments are so idyllic and their optimism and perseverance so remarkable that the story retains an aura of uncomplicated gentleness throughout.
A short, simple, and sweet tale about two friends and a horse.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Hastings Creations Group
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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