“So you know I’m obnoxious right?” And “everything always goes wrong when I’m around,” Andy Fleck, a 12-year-old boy with ADD and problems with impulse control, asks his new foster father. The genius of this tale, which sandwiches wonderfully observed comic moments between scenes that are both heart-wrenching and suspenseful, is that the reader sees exactly how obnoxious and exasperating Andy is, yet roots for him with his or her entire being. Andy, a boy who’s full of bravado but can’t go to sleep at night without his stuffed bear, is a child who desperately needs a family. His drunken mother and jailed thief of a father surrendered him to the state of Massachusetts. Ever since, Andy, though intelligent and resourceful, can’t sit still, obey orders, or cooperate with authorities, has been placed in numerous foster homes, “passed around like a puppy that nobody wants ’cause it keeps messing on the floor.” But now he has a real possibility for security. Two good people are willing to take him into their home with an eye to adoption. Can this over-wound boy whose ethical landscape is as twisted as a corkscrew keep his behavior under control? In a first-person voice that’s all too real, the drama intensifies as Andy tests his new foster parents’ patience and fortitude, finally culminating when Andy tells a devastating lie about his foster father. A killer read. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2001
ISBN: 1-57131-259-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Milkweed
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
It's a dream come true when Andy's irascible Grandpa allows him to buy a neighbor's twin Percherons. Suddenly, what looked like a dull summer becomes a busy one; Andy must not only raise the money to pay for the huge horses but also, with an eye toward the Eastern Idaho State Fair Pulling Contest, train them to work together. Under Grandpa's exacting tutelage, Andy learns to use them as a team, hauling feed, logs, and even—when a friend is injured in an accident—an immense rock. As in all good horse stories, the animals take center stage here, exhibiting strong, distinct personalities. Though the author doesn't spare much sympathy for Andy's separated parents, she allows the (virtually all-male) human cast some personal concerns, too. Andy gets to the fair, and his horses not only win the pulling contest but—in a dramatic finale—they pull a record-breaking load. Simple and satisfying. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-8234-0913-9
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
In the last of a trilogy, sea-lion Daniel au Fond achieves his heart's desires—gathering representatives of the 13 tribes of seagoing mammals, and finding Pacifica, where legend says his kind and humans once lived harmoniously together—only to discover that his quest has just begun. Constantly recalling his previous adventures (Beachmaster, 1988; Wavebender, 1990), Daniel evades oil slicks and other pollution; rescues some fellow sea mammals from captivity; and discovers, on the back of an ancient turtle, a map that leads him to a partly sunken island. In a vision, Daniel learns that his kind had once been captive even here, but freed themselves in a bloody long-ago rebellion; he then realizes that it's up to him to teach humans to respect all life. The author's indictment of our brutality to animals and of destructive environmental practices is on the mark, but the plot's a ritualistic mix of convenient turns and token conflict. The anthropomorphism of the various seals, sea otters, cetaceans, etc., further undercuts the immediacy of the message. Daniel's fans are likely to be disappointed by the vaguely articulated resolution. For a better-written, more compelling fantasy that considers the same themes, see Ruth Park's My Sister Sif (p. 675). (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-8050-1285-0
Page Count: 146
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1991
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