Every now and then a book comes along wherein the reader is genuinely surprised by a shocking development halfway through. This is one such stunner, constructed like an episode of the television show 24, with chapters broken up into the events of 24 chaotic and confusing hours from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. A complicated book that demands careful attention from the reader, it includes such current topics as time travel, computer simulations and military planning. While the beginning is a bit difficult, those who make it to the stunning revelation will be completely hooked. Seven children are installed in a high-security military installation with nearly 200 highly trained security personnel. Each child is a genius with his or her own talents and personality. There’s an air of mystery about exactly the intentions of the leader of the military post. When one girl is taken to a secret area under the base, all hell breaks loose. The children attempt escape from a situation they have been put in through truly horrendous circumstances by calculating adults. Philosophical issues to consider involve the manipulation of science leading to a truly thought-provoking conclusion: Will computers one day surpass their creators and gain the ability to influence humans? A bit bloody and certainly complex, the story leaves the reader with much to ponder. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-206240-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
Galloway (Truly Grim Tales, 1995) revisits the Greek myth of Medusa, the Gorgon with the head of snakes, in a page-turning, occasionally convoluted, contemporary fantasy. When there seems to be no reasonable medical explanation for her continued disturbing dreams of snakes, Dusa is whisked off to Greece by herself, to undergo special treatment at the clinic of the mysterious Gordon sisters, Yali and Teno. When she arrives, all other patients have disappeared, and only the strange boy Perse remains. The slow story soon escalates with Dusa’s discovery of the jar that contains the head of Medusa, the very thing the power-hungry Gordon sisters have been searching for, in hopes of reuniting their sister with her body. Dusa doubts their evil intentions, their ability to shift shapes, their real identity (the Gorgons) until she discovers one of their former patients hidden in an attic room. Not without loss, Dusa comes face to face with Medusa in the mirror, confronting her demons and managing an escape. Dusa’s adventure is about recognizing and accepting one’s own inner strength; aspects of the original myth are murky at times, and readers who have grown up with an image of Medusa as hideous monster may have to make a leap to fathom how “victim and killer come together.” Nevertheless, even if some of the symbolism is lost on readers, and certain threads of the myth dangle, Dusa is a credible character all the way through her independent, triumphant finale. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-385-32264-X
Page Count: 231
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In Bear Creek Ridge and Barlow, two small Oregon towns, everyone is looking forward to the Bat 6 girls’ softball game of 1949. Both towns make plans to cheer the sixth graders on, all in the name of good, clean fun. This simple, small-town portrait of Americana is shattered, however, when a racial incident occurs at the 50th annual game: One player, Shirley, whose father was killed at Pearl Harbor, slams her elbow into the face of Aki, a Japanese-American. It brings the game to a halt, and inspires the townspeople to debate and examine what exactly has gone wrong in the years since WW II ended. Guilt hangs over both towns: Could anyone have prevented the incident? Shirley had not concealed her hatred of “Japs,” yet no one had believed that such a troubled girl would act on her feelings. Through the first-person narrations of the 21 girls of the two teams, the story emerges, and while few of the voices are truly distinct, their emotions and perspectives ring true. Wolff (Make Lemonade, 1993, etc.) is especially deft in creating a transforming, bittersweet post-war atmosphere and winning portraits of members of the communities who support, respect, and encourage their young girls, but come to question their own roles in the tragedy. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-590-89799-3
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1998
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