A lean, staccato style propels this bitter tale of guerrilla warfare in Angola. Amid a tide of death and systematic destruction, young teacher Malenga Nakale is seized as a political prisoner by clandestine South African forces and handcuffed to Hamish Ross, a white army deserter, for a forced march. As they witness atrocities and survive narrow scrapes on their way to a military ``trial,'' the two fall in love. They finally escape into neutral Botswana, but Hamish is mortally wounded. Making no secret of his sympathies, Watson depicts a country battered but unbowed by UNITA, an insurgent army supplied by both South Africa and the US. Angolan civilians are seen as courageous and resilient, UNITA as a band of murderous cowards abetted by brutal South Africans and a cynical CIA agent. Though Peter Dickinson explores similar themes more profoundly in AK (1992), Watson views this particular conflict from an uncommon angle. Malenga will allow herself just a ``spoonful of joy'' at the news that Mandela is free; but her work, and the war, go on. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 15, 1993
ISBN: 0-575-04893-X
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Gollancz/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
Fully fun, challengingly complex and entirely entertaining.
Colin Singleton, child prodigy, tries to turn his 19 failed encounters with girls named Katherine into a formula that will predict the outcome of all relationships and elevate him to genius status.
He and best friend Hassan take a somewhat non-traditional post-graduation road trip and end up in Gutshot, Tenn., guests of the owner of a factory that makes strings for tampons. Colin’s wit, anagrams and philosophical quest for order combine with Lebanese Hassan’s Muslim heritage and stand-up comedy routines to challenge the macho posturing of local youth, who are friends of Lindsey, the daughter of their hostess. When the boys are hired to collect oral histories of the town, their attachment to the small-town folk is cemented by cruising main street and hunting wild boar. Relationships develop, as does Colin, whom Lindsey somehow manages to teach how to tell a story, a skill truly lacking earlier. Sustaining the mood of giddy fun and celebratory discovery, Green omits the dark moments and bleak tragedy of his Printz Award–winning debut, Looking for Alaska (2005). There are tender tearful moments of romance and sadness balanced by an ironic tone and esoteric footnotes along with complex math.
Fully fun, challengingly complex and entirely entertaining. (Fiction. YA)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-525-47688-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A concise, thoughtful narrative that challenges the concept and ideals of allyship through an unexpected lens.
A white Ivy League student reconsiders his racial and class privilege when he runs for student government.
After the death of his best friend, Manny Rivers—a Black teenager who was fatally shot by an off-duty cop—Jared Peter Christensen realized that his whiteness and wealth protected him from the bigotry that Manny couldn’t escape. Now a rising junior at an elite college in Connecticut, Jared wants to make a meaningful impact on the world. He’s also determined to block John Preston LePlante IV, a self-proclaimed “blue-blooded Florida boy,” from winning junior class council president. But Jared’s plans are thrown for a loop when he meets Dylan Marie Coleman, a Black transfer student who enters the campus election. Initially guarded, Dylan opens up to Jared, and a mutual yet fragile romantic attraction blooms. As Jared tries to sort out his conflicting feelings, he writes letters to Manny. Can he earn Dylan’s heart and—more importantly—shed his old habits? In this final installment of Stone’s trilogy that began with Dear Martin (2017), Jared’s fraught journey is depicted with nuance, emotional honesty, and accessible realism. Through his mistakes, Jared learns about the insidious consequences of white supremacy and his complicity in a corrupt system. The positive ending rightfully doesn’t fully resolve all the lingering questions, and readers will wonder if Jared continues to evolve or if his resolutions are fleeting promises.
A concise, thoughtful narrative that challenges the concept and ideals of allyship through an unexpected lens. (author's note) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: March 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593308011
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
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