A highly recommended work that’s thoughtful, funny, wise, and tender.
Two chronically ill teens navigate the joys and pitfalls of a relationship in this YA contemporary romance.
Of all the places where 16-year-old Isabel Garfinkel could meet a cute boy, the Ambulatory Medical Unit at Linefield and West Memorial Hospital in the Queens borough of New York City, wouldn’t seem the most likely. It’s her second time in the “drip room,” as it’s called, where she gets monthly infusions to treat the rheumatoid arthritis that she’s had for 11 years. This time, though, she can’t help staring at a new patient there—a boy her age named Sasha Sverdlov-Deckler. She likes his quirky, appealing looks and wry sense of humor, and they bond over the fact that they’re both Jewish. Sasha has a rare genetic disorder called Gaucher disease, which isn’t fatal, in his case, but causes severe anemia, weak bones, and other problems. Although Isabel has several close and well-meaning friends, she doesn’t have anyone who really understands what it’s like “to deal with the everyday slog of being sick.” She and Sasha hit it off, but she’s emotionally guarded and dislikes risks, and as a result, she doesn’t date. Sasha is patient and sweet, and their romance grows; amid a few arguments and setbacks, they forge a bond that gets them through their problems. As the advice columnist for her high school paper, Isabel asks questions and gathers others’ responses; by the end of the novel, she’s comfortable with not having all the answers. Moskowitz (Salt, 2018, etc.) does a splendid job of showing what the world looks like to the chronically but invisibly ill. For example, Isabel is often tired and aching, and she fears the judgment of others; she notes that even her physician father would question her getting a cab to go 15 blocks, a walkable distance for many, including people who are old or pregnant and “people with arthritis who are just better than me.” Overall, the excellent character development lends depth and sweetness to the romance. Isabel’s relationship with Sasha helps her fight self-doubt and stand up for herself with laudable vigor, yet the novel never feels didactic.
A highly recommended work that’s thoughtful, funny, wise, and tender.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-732-0
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A collection of self-conscious, verbal humor that will leave most children only impatient for the end. (Picture book. 9-15)
An uneven collection of short stories, each between two and six pages, that puns and parodies its way through the annals of children’s literature.
Intended to spark the imagination of children who do not have the patience to read full books, much of the humor presented in The Impatient Imagination will likely only be understood by adults with relatively sophisticated literary backgrounds. Full of wordplay, bad jokes and retellings of many of the Jack tales beloved by children, this twee collection annoys more than delights. The author appears to have adapted some of the conventions of Lemony Snicket, and imbues the text with a touch of Dr. Seuss as well. Fisher’s version of the “House that Jack Built” poem will likely be more irritating for kids than amusing, as he formats it like an annotated poem with distinctly unfunny, punny footers. There are several poems that are quite lovely, mostly because the author dispenses with the otherwise unending stream of witticisms, backward spelling and phonetic games. And some tales do involve logical thinking and offer genuine challenges to the reader. Yet some tales might lead the reader to question whether being generous or kind holds any reward. The retelling of O. Henry’s famous “Gift of the Magi,” found here in the form of the poem “Braids,” is a simplistic synopsis that neither enlightens nor enchants. Six pages of games, riddles and puzzles related to each of the stories form an addendum at the end; many of the questions are didactic but others may spark imaginative answers. As a picture book, it is sparse on illustrations; those that do appear, including the lackluster cover image, seem culled from outdated clip art and home photographs.
A collection of self-conscious, verbal humor that will leave most children only impatient for the end. (Picture book. 9-15)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4257-8449-2
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
None
The summer before Jaime is to leave Phoenix for Bryn Mawr, she decides to earn college money by working two waitress jobs: mornings at a greasy spoon and nights at an upscale hotel restaurant. Her mother has a broken heart; her father is in jail awaiting his trial for embezzlement. She knows that college will deliver her into “the future,” but across her well-laid plans waltzes Buddy, a good-looking, good-for-nothing drifter who immediately begins a long and ardent campaign of seduction. Jaime gets over her initial distaste for him; she is both fascinated by him and by her reaction to him. Her life divides into three shifts—two waitressing, and one, late at night with Buddy, steeling herself against his doubtful charms. When she gives him his comeuppance instead of her virginity, the scene is more slapstick in tone than any preceding it; that’s surprising, given how deliberately Mosier underplays most of the details of Jaime’s life. Perplexing are pieces of high-gloss writing amid ordinary freshman angst and the sketchiness of the details surrounding Jaime’s father, which makes his troubles matter less to readers; compelling and astutely observed are Jaime’s feelings for Buddy, which range from roiling to distant and clinical. (Fiction. 13-15)
None NonePub Date: May 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-679-89035-1
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1999
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