This comic, intellectual fantasy is a quick read that inspires cringing and knee-slapping in equal measure.
A skeptic confronts all manner of religious absurdities in Neuman’s (Superpowers, 2011, etc.) upside-down fantasyland.
Dr. John Aster doesn’t give much credence to the apocalyptic ramblings of two sisters who show up in his office one afternoon. He’s a psychologist. They’re crazy. He orders them into treatment. That’s that. But it’s not: In retribution, the sisters transport Dr. Aster (whose name always appears in the book with his honorific, as a constant reminder that he represents the skeptical world of secular science) to Wendle, a world where people believe and experience far wilder things than ranting sisters. Readers will recognize bits of earthly religion in the vulgar, brutal world of Wendle; it’s far from flattering. There’s blind allegiance to puzzling religious texts, clannish violence and ritualized oppression of the lower classes—except it’s all darkly funny. Dr. Aster, who discovers he has some clumsy wizarding powers of his own, finds himself at the center of Wendle’s apocalyptic prophecy. Everyone, it seems, has a different idea of the role the doctor is supposed to play there: Is he to be the instrument of Wendle’s destruction or its savior? Or perhaps he’s meant to settle down on the side of an active volcano and raise a family? Most of the plot is set as an Odyssean journey through Wendle on the eve of its apocalypse, with the gentle, drunken, red-haired Pinzle and a sex-crazed princess tagging along as Dr. Aster’s Greek chorus. Each page finds the crew in a new, even crazier milieu; fast-forward a chapter and the plot has changed completely. The humor is dry and deadpan, deriving mostly from the Wendle-dwellers’ straight-faced acceptance of the absurdity that surrounds them. The framing conceit, however—the author, Neuman himself, has been driven crazy in the writing of his manuscript—adds very little to the story. The addled author is sympathetic by the end of his crazy book, but there’s no need for a transparent reminder that Wendle’s brand of madness is patently human.
This comic, intellectual fantasy is a quick read that inspires cringing and knee-slapping in equal measure.Pub Date: May 3, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468132540
Page Count: 374
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
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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