Readers who identify with Wendell may feel a call to action; those who identify with Callie may just be exasperated at the...
It’s 1953 in Celeste, Kentucky, and 11-year-old Callie Robinson wants to report news for the local black newspaper, the Advance. Wendell Crow is quite the opposite; the white boy spends his summer days by the river, hoping no one will notice him.
When Callie goes in search of a stray dog and Wendell tries to find an old cabin said to be hidden in the woods, the two children inevitably cross paths and join forces. Both cabin and dog lead Callie and Wendell to learn about a white boy who drowned in the river some years prior. The third-person narration alternates its focus primarily between Callie and Wendell but also includes Mr. Renfrow, the Advance’s editor, and two ghosts: the drowned boy and an enslaved child who died there heading north. The inclusion of the ghosts stresses the importance of remembering the past, but unfortunately, they dilute the urgency of the present-day plot. Segregated Celeste’s balance depends on not “troubling the water,” but Callie and Wendell’s mystery plays out against Mr. Renfrow’s call for the integration of the town swimming pool; both lead to violence. Dowell writes a quiet story that largely relies on metaphor and indirection to guide its readers. Callie is limned with bold strokes: she is brave, feisty, and determined. While Wendell too is drawn broadly—he often defaults to period-typical stereotyping about race and gender, but he also has an intrinsic sense of fairness—he is given more of a character arc, as expressed when Mr. Renfrow tells Callie that Wendell is only just learning what it means to be “an eyewitness to injustice.” The conclusion leaves Callie and Wendell’s, and Celeste’s, story unresolved.
Readers who identify with Wendell may feel a call to action; those who identify with Callie may just be exasperated at the inaction. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2463-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers.
A coming-of-age story bringing awareness to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, “a holiday no one in this school seems to care about.”
Seventh grader Wesley Wilder, an Upper Skagit Indian Tribe descendant living just north of Seattle, proudly awaits the publication of her celebratory work, “We Still Belong: An Indigenous Peoples’ Day Poem!” But when her English teacher doesn’t mention her poem, despite always giving extra credit and class discussion time to students who are published in the school paper, she feels hurt and confused. Later, Wesley’s plans to ask the boy she’s crushing on to the school dance are derailed, adding to her emotional roller coaster. Day (Upper Skagit) crafts believable, complex characters: Wesley lives in a multigenerational Native family, is an outstanding student, a musician, and a gamer. She is kind and helps others in need. Her grandfather’s words—“the things that scare us the most in this world are usually the most worthwhile things in our lives”—help ease her vulnerability and self-doubt. This story, which weaves diversity into the supporting cast, incorporates layers of Native identity throughout, as Wesley connects with a new friend who is a young Native activist, learning more about Christopher Columbus. The triumphant ending shows Wesley raised up by family, friends, and community.
A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers. (author’s note, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith of Heartdrum, We Need Diverse Books statement) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780063064560
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Despite flaws, this is a book worth reading simply for its originality
A fantasy based in Caribbean folklore.
Corinne La Mer is a brave 11-year-old growing up on a Caribbean island. On All Hallow’s Eve, when a pair of troublemaking brothers tie her deceased mother’s prized necklace to a wild animal, Corinne chases the animal into the forest to retrieve it. However, this is no ordinary forest: It’s known for being the abode of “jumbies,” creatures “hidden in the shadows, always waiting for their moment to attack.” Though Corinne doesn’t believe in them, a jumbie follows her out of the forest. The third-person narration tells the back story—in bits and pieces—of this jumbie, who reveals herself to be Corinne’s mother’s sister. It’s never satisfactorily explained why Severine (as Corinne’s jumbie aunt calls herself) seeks out her niece, nearly a decade after her sister’s death. In order to fight Severine—who, sympathetically, only wants a family but is bent on turning humans to jumbies to get one—Corinne must rely not only on her own strength, but that of newfound friends. The novel is based on a Haitian folk tale, according to the author’s note, and it’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe. Baptiste never quite manages to control the story’s pacing, though, and certain elements in the ending feel arbitrary.
Despite flaws, this is a book worth reading simply for its originality . (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61620-414-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
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