Ultimately, what readers take away from this solid book is the abiding sense of love that bonds and binds the twins to each...
Sometimes it takes a family to tell a story.
This is the case in this new book from twins Ryan and R.J. Peete, whose mother, actor Holly Robinson Peete, bookends their tales of how autism affects the personal and familial lives of teenagers. The twins reintroduce the characters of Charlie and Callie, the fictional alter egos the Peetes introduced in the picture book My Brother Charlie, illustrated by Shane W. Evans (2010), now 15. Readers see how Charlie navigates not only repeating ninth grade, particularly having to stay in special ed while Callie advances to 10th grade, but the treacheries of making “so-called friends” who try to take advantage of him, as well as puberty and dating. Callie also negotiates puberty as well as the guilt, rage, and exhaustion knotted in the “why me?” of being “the normal twin.” Charlie and Callie narrate in alternating first-person, present-tense chapters that effectively convey their disparate perspectives, even on such shared events as the death of Charlie’s dog, Toby. Readers will also appreciate that Robinson Peete addresses the very real concern of how autism might affect Charlie/R.J. as a young African-American man whose behavior could be easily—and lethally—misinterpreted by others, as has happened to people of color with disabilities.
Ultimately, what readers take away from this solid book is the abiding sense of love that bonds and binds the twins to each other as they tell their multifaceted truths about living with this little-understood condition. (resources) (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-09468-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An unusual and intriguing meditation on freedom of choice.
When her beloved grandmother suffers a massive stroke and ends up in the hospital, high school junior Caroline Cabot’s world falls apart.
Gram was her closest friend and mentor during Caroline’s parents’ acrimonious divorce. When Gram dies, Caroline is forced to confront her grief, her alienation from her family and some difficult choices in the relationship arena. In an ambitious narrative device, the book juggles two alternating plots, following a prefatory “Before” section. Chapters titled “Stay” are based on the premise that Caroline chooses to remain with her grandmother in the hospital and hears her dying words of love for her granddaughter; in those titled “Go,” Caroline succumbs to her friends’ pressure to go to a party, thus missing the moment when Gram dies. Throughout the book, the consequences of these decisions are revealed, and both lead to the same cathartic epilogue. Although the dual narrative feels labored at times, and the moral message is not always clear, the authenticity of Caroline’s feelings and the real-world dilemmas she faces make her story one younger teens can easily relate to.
An unusual and intriguing meditation on freedom of choice. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7271-6
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
An enjoyable and provocative exploration of the clash between “normal” and “different” and how similar the two really are.
Summer is supposed to be about lazy days, but for Johnny, summer doesn’t quite turn out the way he expects.
When his mother gets a job in upstate New York, too far from Hull, Vt., for commuting, rising freshman Johnny is sent to live with his aunt and her son for the summer. This wouldn’t be so bad except that his cousin, Remember Dippy, isn’t like other kids—his name is just the start. He likes his days to follow a certain order, and the introduction of excitement often has disastrous results. Johnny, on the other hand, enjoys the occasional adventure, especially when a certain pretty girl is a part of it. Despite Remember’s reluctance, risky escapades seem to find the two cousins: A pet ferret goes missing, a close friend suffers a fall, and a new love interest might change Remember’s life in ways he doesn’t even suspect. Author of the Sydney Taylor Honor–winning The Blood Lie (2011), Vernick displays both tenderness and humor in her story about an unusual relationship. By throwing challenges in the way of authentic, fully-formed characters, she invites readers to question assumptions about what young people are capable of, and she shows how willing they often are to view the world from a new perspective.
An enjoyable and provocative exploration of the clash between “normal” and “different” and how similar the two really are. (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-935955-48-1
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2013
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