Still, especially for kids who have watched recent elections, Kevin’s brand of campaigning is readily recognizable.
Kevin knows the buzzwords that will surely get him elected student-body president; it’s unfortunate that he’s running for the wrong reason.
Kevin’s gotten into trouble before (Crush, 2002, etc.). In this fourth, funny outing, he navigates the mostly self-created obstacles of eighth grade. This time, having achieved a first date with his new girlfriend, Tina, he realizes that a new student, good-looking Cash Devine, is running unopposed for student-body president—and capturing lots of attention in the process. That just doesn’t seem right to Kevin. After all, he’s the one with all of the natural leadership ability, and he knows, somehow, all of the ins and outs of campaigning. However, he might not know quite as much as Cash’s campaign manager, Kevin’s clever rival, Katie. The strength of this effort comes from the surfeit of hyperbole that Kevin effortlessly churns out in his rarely self-critical but frequently amusing first-person narration. Each chapter title offers yet another pithy rule for aspiring politicians: “The True Politician Deftly Sidesteps Problems That Might Arise from an Overabundance of Truth,” for example. Many of these “rules” seem unlikely to arise from the brain of an eighth-grader however, making this a little less credible than others in the series.
Still, especially for kids who have watched recent elections, Kevin’s brand of campaigning is readily recognizable. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-385-74228-3
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: Feb. 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2013
A poignant and relevant retelling of a child immigrant’s struggle to recover from an accident and feel at home in America.
In the 1960s, Ruthie Mizrahi, a young Jewish Cuban immigrant to New York City, spends nearly a year observing her family and friends from her bed.
Before the accident, Ruthie’s chief goals are to graduate out of the “dumb class” for remedial students, to convince her parents to buy her go-go boots, and to play hopscotch with other kids in her Queens apartment building. But after Papi’s Oldsmobile is involved in a fatal multicar collision, Ruthie’s leg is severely broken. The doctor opts to immobilize both legs in a body cast that covers Ruthie from chest to toes. Bedridden and lonely, Ruthie knows she’s “lucky” to be alive, but she’s also “broken.” She begins collecting stories from her Jewban grandparents; her fellow young immigrant friends, Belgian Danielle and Indian Ramu; her “flower power” tutor, Joy; and her vibrant Mexican neighbor, Chicho, an artist who teaches her about Frida Kahlo. Ruthie also prays and writes letters to God, Shiva, and Kahlo, asking them for guidance, healing, and forgiveness. A cultural anthropologist and poet, the author based the book on her own childhood experiences, so it’s unsurprising that Ruthie’s story rings true. The language is lyrical and rich, the intersectionality—ethnicity, religion, class, gender—insightful, and the story remarkably engaging, even though it takes place primarily in the island of Ruthie’s bedroom.
A poignant and relevant retelling of a child immigrant’s struggle to recover from an accident and feel at home in America. (Historical fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-54644-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
A story that sings to the soul.
Elio is in love for the first time—and he has no idea what to do about it.
Eighth grader Elio Solis is only 13, but he’s met the girl of his dreams. His feelings for Camelia are so profound that he sees things in ultraviolet: “Whoever heard of having your whole vision / change because you met some girl?” Growing up in East Oakland, California, Elio is trying to navigate social media, friendships, his family’s Mexican culture, and his changing body—all part of his quest to understand what it means to be a good boy who will grow into a good man. What does that look like when your father takes you to cockfights and your mother warns you about toxic masculinity? Most of all, how do you handle the crushing blows of a first heartbreak? Written in Salazar’s stunning and highly accessible verse, with Spanish words contextually woven in and easily understood by non-Spanish speakers, this novel stands out for the thoughtful way it expresses a young boy’s perspective as it discusses topics such as masculinity and consent. Elio and his dad join Brothers Rising, a group started by Fernando, Elio’s best friend Paco’s dad, which offers them community and a framework for honest conversations about coming of age and masculinity, as well as a beautiful rendering of Indigenous Mexican rituals.
A story that sings to the soul. (Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781338775655
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
© 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.
