An uplifting story marred by clumsy efforts to inject diverse representation.
Four seventh graders get lessons in community spirit when a hurricane hits their Cape Cod town.
Narrators Jenna, Selena, Piper, and Ziggy start their school year assigned to write “a paper about what matters to us in life.” Meanwhile, as a hurricane heads their way, Jenna frets about beating Franny, her swim team rival, at an upcoming meet; Selena tries a homemade beauty treatment that goes badly awry; Piper worries about the safety of her grandma and the horses they care for; and Ziggy has concerns because her “hippie” mom is a conspiracy theorist who refuses to take the storm warnings seriously. Still, as the storm causes dramatic flooding and evacuations, all four girls pitch in to help and, in the aftermath, are left with both themes for their school assignment and inspiring glimpses of the good work done by the local lifeguard crew. In a largely White cast, the representation of characters with various underrepresented identities—from Ecuadorian American Selena to biracial Israeli and Somali Samantha, who has “dyslexia and other learning differences,” and autistic Franny—unfortunately misfires. The book broaches identity-related subjects, but they are not developed with tact or insight. Selena’s concerns about color-blind casting in the school play, Samantha’s self-identifying as “a mutt,” a character’s misleading comment about racial diversity in Israel, and the objectifying portrayal of Franny’s autism are missed opportunities for depth.
An uplifting story marred by clumsy efforts to inject diverse representation. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-72822-122-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...
At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
