Her parents' decision to accept a temporary teaching stint at a small Missouri college leaves Melissa Jensen frustrated; it means leaving her New York City friends and school, where she excels in the orchestra and drama classes. She could have stayed with her grandparents, but the thought of living in their Orthodox Jewish home held no appeal for her. All the Jensens are in for a pleasant surprise, however. Chris, a handsome senior at Henryville High, meets them at the airport and delivers them to their beautiful new home, shows them their new Saab, and promises that he and his sister will help Melissa adjust. She settles in more quickly than she dreamed, working on her violin-playing, becoming assistant director for the production of Romeo and Juliet, and coaching multi-talented Daniel, the school's only observant Jew, in the leading role. But Daniel has become the target of cruel anti-Semitism, led by popular football star, hulking Johnny McGraw. Melissa feels a sense of shame for concealing her own Jewish identity, and for not knowing more about her religion. Other students join Melissa in condemning Johnny's behavior, admitting that they, believing that his opinions and pranks were harmless, had been silent too long. Sherman exhibits a heavy hand in outlining all this, but her characters prove more complex than they seem initially, and she keeps the plot moving along at a good clip. Melissa's crush on Chris and her eventual deeper feelings for Daniel make this ideal for romance readers, and its message is one that always bears repeating. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1998
ISBN: 0-8276-0595-1
Page Count: 121
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1998
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when...
Two sisters make an unauthorized expedition to their former hometown and in the process bring together the two parts of their divided family.
Dooley packs plenty of emotion into this eventful road trip, which takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. Twelve-year-old Ophelia, nicknamed Fella, and her 16-year-old sister, Zoey Grace, aka Zany, are the daughters of a lesbian couple, Shannon and Lacy, who could not legally marry. The two white girls squabble and share memories as they travel from West Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina, where Zany is determined to scatter Mama Lacy’s ashes in accordance with her wishes. The year is 2004, before the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, and the girls have been separated by hostile, antediluvian custodial laws. Fella’s present-tense narration paints pictures not just of the difficulties they face on the trip (a snowstorm, car trouble, and an unlikely thief among them), but also of their lives before Mama Lacy’s illness and of the ways that things have changed since then. Breathless and engaging, Fella’s distinctive voice is convincingly childlike. The conversations she has with her sister, as well as her insights about their relationship, likewise ring true. While the girls face serious issues, amusing details and the caring adults in their lives keep the tone relatively light.
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when Fella’s family figures out how to come together in a new way . (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-16504-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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