Accessibly captures the human impact of harsh immigration laws and the power of connection.
Sila’s mom is forced to return to Turkey to retrieve documents needed for her to remain in the U.S., where the family has lived for years and where Sila was born.
What was supposed to be 8 days away turns into 8 months. Sila and her dad try to stay hopeful, but they fall into despair. All this changes when they meet Gio, a widowed carpenter who quit his job when he won the lottery. Now he lives on a large farm in Eugene, Oregon, and, through his relationship with elephant-loving Sila, rescues Veda, a circus elephant in search of a home—and later flamingos and a wide array of local animals in need. The farm gives Gio and Sila a new sense of purpose. For Sila, it also ignites a friendship with her autistic neighbor and classmate, Mexican American Mateo, with whom she was paired at school, as both were perceived as being isolated and in need of social support. Writing from multiple points of view, old and young, animal and human, Sloan captures the importance of compassion and bravery when facing life’s challenges. While the shifts in perspective limit character development, themes of collectivity and community in the face of isolation and stigma are brought to the surface and themselves offer depth to this heartfelt and sincere story.
Accessibly captures the human impact of harsh immigration laws and the power of connection. (Fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: March 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7352-2994-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
This really special triumph is bound to be widely discussed by teachers and writers, and widely esteemed by Creech’s devoted...
Versatile Newbery Medalist Creech (A Fine, Fine School, p. 862, etc.) continues to explore new writing paths with her latest, written as free verse from the viewpoint of a middle-school boy named Jack.
Creech knows all about reluctant writers from her own years of teaching, and she skillfully reveals Jack’s animosity toward books and poetry, and especially about writing his own poems. He questions the very nature of poetry, forcing the reader to think about this question, too. Jack’s class assignments incorporate responses to eight well-known poems (included in an appendix) and gradually reveal the circumstances, and Jack’s hidden feelings, about the loss of his beloved dog. Jack’s poetry grows in length, complexity, and quality from September to May, until he proudly sends his best poem about his dog and a heartfelt thank-you poem to Walter Dean Myers after the author’s school visit. The inclusion of the eight poems is an advantage, because comments on the poems are often part of Jack’s poetry. Others not already familiar with these famous poems, though, might miss the allusions in Jack’s work. (There is no note at the beginning of the book to point the reader to the appendix.) But it’s a quick read, offering a chance to go back and look again. Teachers will take this story to heart, recognizing Miss Stretchberry’s skilled and graceful teaching and Jack’s subtle emotional growth both as a person and a writer.
This really special triumph is bound to be widely discussed by teachers and writers, and widely esteemed by Creech’s devoted readers. (Fiction/poetry. 9-13)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-029287-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when...
Two sisters make an unauthorized expedition to their former hometown and in the process bring together the two parts of their divided family.
Dooley packs plenty of emotion into this eventful road trip, which takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. Twelve-year-old Ophelia, nicknamed Fella, and her 16-year-old sister, Zoey Grace, aka Zany, are the daughters of a lesbian couple, Shannon and Lacy, who could not legally marry. The two white girls squabble and share memories as they travel from West Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina, where Zany is determined to scatter Mama Lacy’s ashes in accordance with her wishes. The year is 2004, before the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, and the girls have been separated by hostile, antediluvian custodial laws. Fella’s present-tense narration paints pictures not just of the difficulties they face on the trip (a snowstorm, car trouble, and an unlikely thief among them), but also of their lives before Mama Lacy’s illness and of the ways that things have changed since then. Breathless and engaging, Fella’s distinctive voice is convincingly childlike. The conversations she has with her sister, as well as her insights about their relationship, likewise ring true. While the girls face serious issues, amusing details and the caring adults in their lives keep the tone relatively light.
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when Fella’s family figures out how to come together in a new way . (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-16504-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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