A taut thriller combined with an enthralling tale of adolescence.
Members of a school basketball team fall prey to someone’s diabolical plan in this middle-grade novel.
Will Moore starts the seventh grade as the new kid in Washington County, Virginia. The athletic tween makes friends easily, especially once he joins the middle school’s football team. And since he excels at multiple sports, it looks like he’ll be a jock year-round. Jared Cook, in contrast, is a meek loner and, sadly, a regular target for bullies. But once basketball season starts, he unleashes his skills at tryouts and impresses the coach. Though Will and others welcome Jared to the team, some members goad and berate him whenever possible. Meanwhile, as the fall semester progresses, a mysterious presence seemingly lurks in the school. A stranger periodically drugs students (mostly members of the basketball team), who later awaken. But a few of these assaults come with vague threats, like a black-inked message on Jared’s body: “WATCH YOUR BACK.” As this is all part of someone’s fiendish plot, it culminates in an attack against the entire basketball team, leaving the members to fight for their lives. The bulk of Saur’s lengthy book (508 pages) is a coming-of-age tale for the 12-year-old protagonists. It shrewdly explores their home lives: Will’s dad, who has grappled with a drinking problem, suffers from PTSD as a result of his tours in Iraq; Jared deals with his older brother’s bullying. The author delivers swiftly paced, aggressively played basketball games that stay appropriate for younger readers. Trash talk on the court, for example, doesn’t get much worse than “beanpole” for Jared and “shrimp” for Will. In the same vein, the narrative’s scarier latter half derives intensity from suspense rather than violent acts. While the villain’s appalling motivation makes sense, the culprit’s overly elaborate plan is baffling, even as some characters try explaining it. Nevertheless, it’s perfectly clear that Will, Jared, and several others are in danger.
A taut thriller combined with an enthralling tale of adolescence.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-949317-08-4
Page Count: 520
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A good story with some unexpected twists
After saving the life of a famous model, a 14-year-old Mexican-American boy learns the pressures of popularity and the definition of true heroism.
Dallas freshman Rawly Sánchez knows that life is not perfect. His older brother Jaime is in prison, while his mother’s Mexican restaurant is barely staying afloat. Now, he can’t even visit his brother on Saturdays anymore, or he will miss the required tutoring for the algebra class he is failing. Small bursts of happiness come in the comic books he loves and in hanging out with his nerdy, often-annoying, wisecracking Jewish best friend Nevin Steinberg. Things take a turn for the worse when someone accidentally sets a pig loose in his mom’s restaurant, and the incident makes the local news. Then, Nevin talks Rawly into performing as a duo at the school talent show, where he makes a fool of himself in front of his crush, Miyoko. Everything changes when Rawly misses his bus stop and ends up rescuing 22-year-old model Nikki Demetrius when her car plunges into a river. Instantly, Rawly is on the local and national news, hailed as a hero for saving Nikki’s life. The third-person narration follows Rawley’s journey as he learns who his real friends are and the difference between comic-book and real-world heroes.
A good story with some unexpected twists . (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55885-711-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Maynard (Quiet, Wyatt!, 1999) makes fire the pivotal plot element in this short, episodic action novel. In the small village of McIntosh, Jed, the fire chief’s son, is branded a fire bug for a past transgression in which he accidentally burned down the family garage. Now, when a local swamp catches fire, he is the first to be blamed. Norm Dempsey, wannabe fire chief, is first to point the finger. Through a freak accident, Jed’s father lands in a coma in the hospital. A series of fires, a swamp fire, brush fire, barn fire, and school fire in the sports equipment room, forms a string of actions that make up the story. Toss in a few boyish pranks and some not-so-subtle clues and the story builds to its natural climax—an even bigger fire. This time, a monster train wreck sets the whole pond ablaze. Not surprisingly, Jed takes charge and steps in to rescue the day, the nursing home and surrounding houses, with a little help from his recuperating father, all in the name of saving face and proving that Norm Dempsey is behind the arsons. This fast-moving, predictable fare has some great action sequences, with appeal for mystery fans. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-399-23439-X
Page Count: 149
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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