Set in New York City, this is a highly entertaining, funny, poignant modern fairy tale of a lonely adolescent who receives the sudden gift of popularity. Wilma is at the end of the most excruciating eighth-grade year. Her existence defines unpopular; not only is she friendless, her clueless Language Arts teacher has read aloud a pointofview assignment in which Wilma spends a day as her Airedale Terrier, Reggie. She describes in loving detail the joys of doghood, waiting anxiously for “Beloved Wilma” to come home, lifting a leg to pee, and sniffing a Dalmatian's rear. That's the last straw. Wilma is constantly taunted. Anonymous woofs and snuffles follow her down the school corridor. Suzanne, a particularly nasty classmate, takes every opportunity to ask if Wilma has sniffed an anus lately. One morning while dreading yet another day of isolation, Wilma gives up her subway seat to an elderly woman who looks a bit faint. In return, the woman grants Wilma one wish. She wishes to be the most popular student at her school, Claverford. It is only after the spell begins to work that Wilma realizes her error. The spell will only be in effect at Claverford until graduation, which is only three weeks away. Levine (Ella Enchanted, 1997) captures the daytoday lives of tortured teens, their language, their anxieties, and their joys while spinning a light tale with deeper meaning. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: May 31, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-027900-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2000
A blast for action fans, with potential for a long run.
Kicking off a new series with a bang (several bangs, in fact), Stroud sends two young fugitives with murky pasts fleeing murderous pursuers across a fractured future Britain.
It’s a land of wilderness and often radioactive ruins, with remnants of humanity in scattered walled towns huddling for protection against crazed, cannibalistic Tainted roaming the woods and ruthlessly culling anyone with even minor mutations under the direction of magisterial Faith Houses. Scarlett McCain, professional thief, initially thinks the uncommonly persistent, bowler-hatted gunmen are after her for her last bank robbery—but soon realizes their quarry is actually Albert Browne, a strangely secretive and ingenuous lad she impulsively pulled from a blown-up bus. What makes him so valuable? The answer, coming through hails of gunfire, massive explosions, narrow escapes galore, and encounters with terrifying monsters (not all of them nonhuman) on the way to a desperate climactic struggle in the immense concrete archipelago of London revolves around a secret prison where children with special mental abilities are kept, tortured, and trained for purposes unknown. If Scarlett turns out to be formidable in the crunch and Albert not so much, by the end the two have not only bonded, but proven to have complementary abilities that bid fair to serve them well in future exploits. The vivid setting, rapid-fire dialogue, and nonstop action will propel readers through this raucous, rousing rumble. The cast presents White.
A blast for action fans, with potential for a long run. (Science fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-43036-1
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample...
A home-schooled squireling sallies forth to public school, where the woods turn out to be treacherous and dragons lie in wait.
Imogene Vega has grown up among “faire-mily”; her brown-skinned dad is the resident evil knight at a seasonal Renaissance faire, her lighter-skinned mom is in charge of a gift shop, and other adult friends play various costumed roles. As a freshly minted “squire,” she happily charges into new weekend duties helping at jousts, practicing Elizabethan invective (“Thou lumpish reeling-ripe jolt-head!” “Thou loggerheaded rump-fed giglet!”), and keeping younger visitors entertained. But she loses her way when cast among crowds of strangers in sixth grade. Along with getting off on the wrong foot academically, she not only becomes a target of mockery after clumsy efforts to join a clique go humiliatingly awry, but alienates potential friends (and, later, loving parents and adoring little brother too). Amid stabs of regret she wonders whether she’s more dragon than knight. In her neatly drawn sequential panels, Newbery honoree Jamieson (Roller Girl, 2015) portrays a diverse cast of expressive, naturally posed figures occupying two equally immersive worlds. In the end Imogene wins the day in both, proving the mettle of her brave, decent heart in finding ways to make better choices and chivalric amends for her misdeeds.
Readers will cheer her victories, wince at her stumbles, and likely demand visits to the nearest faire themselves to sample the wares and fun. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-525-42998-2
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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