A moving and memorable tale of a boy and his bear.
Like Nâam-pèng, the bravest bee in a much-loved story, a boy faces a monster—bear-bile farming—and makes a difference.
When the moon bear cub that Tam first encountered in the forests near his family’s old village arrives as a captive for the bear farm in a Laotian city where the 12-year-old has been sent to work, Tam promises to get them both back to their mountain home. Tam’s village life ended with his tribe’s relocation to the lowlands. Then a bomb, buried in their new farmland during the war 40 years earlier, kills his father. Gen. Chan, responsible for the relocation, arranges employment for young Tam in a city “farm” where bears are kept in cages so that bile, used for traditional medicine, can be extracted from their gall bladders. Gen. Chan is also a customer. His beloved daughter is ill; he hopes the bile will cure her. Though the work is hard and his boss unstable, Tam is staying with a family that cares for him; the bears aren’t so lucky. This appealing first-person account spotlights a lesser-known issue of animal cruelty but, appropriately for its audience, has a hopeful resolution. There is sufficient Laotian history and culture woven in to provide an authentic, intriguing setting, along with just the right measure of suspense.
A moving and memorable tale of a boy and his bear. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-0094-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2014
A strong start to a new series in the ever-popular Warriors world: Legions of fans will purr.
Increased evidence of encroachment by Twolegs and other ominous signs of change roil the five feline Clans of the lake territories in this kickoff of a new story arc.
In intertwined storylines, a distracting voice in a young apprentice’s head takes on increasingly scary strength, disturbing visions inform an experienced warrior that she’s been chosen by the spirit guides of StarClan to play an unwanted role in impending troubles, and a wise but weakening Clan leader faces being voted out of office due to her age. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Twolegs are tearing up a forested area, poisoning an important stream, and possibly threatening all the established territories of the five Clans. Avid series fans will welcome encounters with older versions of Leafstar, Tawnypelt, and other stalwarts whom they met in previous episodes. Detailed maps labeling the terrain in both cat and Twoleg terms appear at the beginning of the book, along with a cast list of truly imposing length, helping any readers who need reminders to keep track of the dozens of relationships and Clan affiliations. Better yet, expertly mixed in among dreams and discussions that crank up the general level of anxiety, the book has enough incidental action and individual wrestling with personal issues to help the main characters stand out from the furry crowd.
A strong start to a new series in the ever-popular Warriors world: Legions of fans will purr. (Animal fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780063357068
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A slow, slight story enlivened by likable characters and a nice dose of humor. Twice.
Six 14-year-old boys, all classmates, must sit tight in their school bathroom while they wait out a storm warning, a forced interaction that causes the barriers between them to fall.
Although there isn’t much story, it’s told twice, once as a novella, the second time as a play. The plot is a kind of stripped-down, reasonably witty, all-male middle school version of The Breakfast Club, though it lacks that property’s heart and gravitas. Readers will both like and recognize the diverse group of characters, such as the brainiac or the hostile, seemingly dumb one, and the jokes mostly land. But for boys of that age, these characters are remarkably live-and-let-live, with no harsh teasing of the anxious new kid with the stuffed cat, for example. This goodwill creates minor rather than major tension between them, which, coupled with the lack of action, makes the novella feel rather sluggish. It’s better as a play, partially because it’s cut to its essentials, partially because the story’s shape, simple set, and group of individuals artificially stuck together as interior revelations play out lends itself to the form. Drama teachers may find it a useful demonstration of how to turn prose into dramatic writing.
A slow, slight story enlivened by likable characters and a nice dose of humor. Twice. (Fiction/drama. 9-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5223-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
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