It’s 1968. The Vietnam War and Apollo 11 are in the background, and between a war in a distant land and a spacecraft heading to the moon, Doug Swieteck starts a new life in tiny Marysville, N.Y. He hates “stupid Marysville,” so far from home and his beloved Yankee Stadium, and he may have moved away, but his cruel father and abusive brothers are still with him. Readers of the Newbery Honor–winning The Wednesday Wars (2007) will remember Doug, now less edgy and gradually more open to the possibilities of life in a small town. Each chapter opens with a print of a John James Audubon painting, and Mr. Powell, the town librarian, teaches Doug to paint and see the world as an artist. He meets pretty Lillian Spicer, just the feisty friend Doug needs, and a whole cast of small-town characters opens Doug to what he might be in the world. This is Schmidt’s best novel yet—darker than The Wednesday Wars and written with more restraint, but with the same expert attention to voice, character and big ideas. By the end of this tale, replete with allusions to Our Town, Doug realizes he’s pretty happy in Marysville, where holding hands with the green-eyed girl—and a first kiss—rival whatever might be happening on the moon. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-15260-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
Seventh grader Milo Cruikshank narrates and illustrates an up-and-down year in yet another new school. He works his way through a crush and finds both friends who share his interests and an adult he can talk to about the ways he still misses his mom, who died two years earlier. Looking at the cover and even reading the first two chapters won’t prepare readers for the emotional content of this moving book. Milo’s mother’s death left a gaping, silent hole in his family. Over the course of the year he finds a way to fill that void, get his father and older sister talking about her again and say goodbye properly. The accessible text is full of cartoons illustrating and occasionally carrying the action; Milo makes lists, too. Close to failing math, socially inept and awkward with girls, even one who simply wants to be a friend, he is easy to care about. Middle-school readers will find his school life familiar and painfully funny, but they may be surprised by the poignancy of his story. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4169-9430-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Twelve-year-old Lace has always lived in the shadow of her popular, talented and beautiful sister, Marni. Now she lives in the shadow of her sister’s accident. When the dare to jump from a cliff into the lake below ends tragically, taking Marni and her mother to the hospital in the city for the foreseeable future, Lace abandons everything that reminds her of her sister. This includes her love of swimming. Family and friends cannot breach the walls Lace has erected around herself. Enter the odd and possibly dangerous housekeeper, Willa Dodge. With her mysterious past and no-nonsense attitude, Willa begins to pave the way for a new future for both sisters. The mystery surrounding Willa’s motives and the uncertainty about the extent of Marni’s injuries propel the story forward. Unfortunately, neither has the energy to support the flat characters and unfocused theme. Lace, in particular, feels false. While she outwardly exhibits the classic stages of grief, her inner emotional reactions fall flat. The story’s motive is undoubtedly earnest, but it falters in execution. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-36145-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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