by Guadalupe García McCall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 2022
Part new-kid-in-town coming-of-age story, part supernatural thriller, with a slow start and a mostly satisfying end.
When James and his younger sister, Ava, move to a new town in a new state, they expect to encounter some differences—but their new neighborhood seems to be hiding dark secrets.
Twelve-year-old Mexican American James, who is Texas born and bred, has no interest in moving to cold and rainy Oregon. He misses his two best friends, and he especially misses Ita, his maternal grandmother, who passed away shortly before the big move. Tensions are high with his parents and 10-year-old Ava, too, due in part to the siblings’ ongoing prank war. Then creepy letters addressed to James from someone who signs off as “The Keeper” start appearing with warnings that he must prove himself as a member of his new community. Though at first mutually suspicious, James and Ava come to believe that neither one is behind the letters, but the erosion of trust caused by their rivalry leads their parents to believe it’s just another one of their elaborate hoaxes. Now, instead of being adversaries, the siblings must work together to solve the mystery behind their secretive community. The plot is slow to build, taking time to establish the siblings’ relationship and the neighbors’ ostensible friendliness. Unfortunately, this leaves less time to cultivate the mystery of the letters; this storyline only really picks up around the halfway mark, and the resolution feels rushed.
Part new-kid-in-town coming-of-age story, part supernatural thriller, with a slow start and a mostly satisfying end. (Horror. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-307692-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
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by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Kirbi Fagan
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Niki Stage
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by Rosanne Parry illustrated by Lindsay Moore
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