“I was always going to be that boy who killed his uncle,” proclaims 11-year-old Daniel Sartain. He never wanted to hunt rabbits in his family’s Georgia woods, but coming from a long line of hunters and idolizing his uncle, Clay, Danny follows him one cold November morning in 1992, carrying his grandfather’s shotgun. The boy’s inexperience kills Clay, and he loses the almost-brother who shared comic books with him and who protected him from Danny’s abusive, alcoholic father, who has his own secret guilt. Now Danny wonders how he can get past this pain, avoid becoming an angry monster like his father and stop pointing the same shotgun at himself. Although sometimes repetitive and slow-paced, with a quickly resolved ending and heavy-handed message about suicide, this satisfactory debut novel depicts a realistic portrayal of grief from a youth’s perspective. Middle-grade boys will take interest in Danny’s internal superhero-vs.-villain battle and rally around him when he finds the strength to stand up to his father. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-385-73629-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2009
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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There’s a monster in Sidwell, Massachusetts, that can only be seen at night or, as Twig reveals, if passersby are near her house.
It’s her older brother, James, born with wings just like every male in the Fowler line for the last 200 years. They were cursed by the Witch of Sidwell, left brokenhearted by their forebear Lowell Fowler. Twig and James are tired of the secret and self-imposed isolation. Lonely Twig narrates, bringing the small town and its characters to life, intertwining events present and past, and describing the effects of the spell on her fractured family’s daily life. Longing for some normalcy and companionship, she befriends new-neighbor Julia while James falls in love with Julia’s sister, Agate—only to learn they are descendants of the Witch. James and Agate seem as star-crossed as their ancestors, especially when the townspeople attribute a spate of petty thefts and graffiti protesting the development of the woods to the monster and launch a hunt. The mix of romance and magic is irresistible and the tension, compelling. With the help of friends and through a series of self-realizations and discoveries, Twig grows more self-assured. She is certain she knows how to change the curse. In so doing, Twig not only changes James’ fate, but her own, for the first time feeling the fullness of family, friends and hope for the future.
Enchanting. (Magical realism. 9-12)Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-38958-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
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A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too. A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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