Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming.
As 13-year-old Ellie Cowan faces high school, her relationships undergo difficult changes.
Months after the events of Time To Roll (2023), Ellie, Coralee, and Bert are entering “the grand finale of middle school.” Ellie dreads high school, with new therapists and new classrooms that might not be wheelchair accessible. Even worse, Bert, for whom she’s developed “fish-swishy” romantic feelings, might be attending boarding school in Kentucky next year—nine hours from Oklahoma. And while Mema always has wise advice, Grandpa’s worsening Alzheimer’s disease is taking a toll on the family. Ellie just wants everything to stay the same. Sumner poignantly explores complicated emotions ranging from crushes to grief, and readers will sympathize with Ellie as she struggles to express herself. The depiction of Grandpa’s decline is particularly heart-wrenching. The bond between the friend trio remains strong, and Ellie and Bert’s relationship brims with sweetness. Unfortunately, the author’s handling of bullying is less successful; bullies’ violent treatment of Bert, who’s cued as neurodivergent, goes unreported, setting a troubling example for bullied readers and their peers. Though Bert retains his uber-logical charm, his lack of self-confidence remains largely unaddressed, which is particularly disappointing, given the increased focus on his character. While his persecution may, sadly, reflect reality, readers will likely wish his character arc would more clearly convey that he realizes he doesn’t deserve to be bullied. Those facing life changes like Ellie’s will find her experiences resonant and, ultimately, comforting, however. Most characters read white.
Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947848
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK TO SCREEN
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism.
A summer spent summiting the Adirondacks allows a teenager to reckon with grief.
Thirteen-year-old Finn Connelly’s summer is off to a rocky start. In addition to several incomplete class assignments—including a poetry project about heroes—he’s facing vandalism charges after an angry outburst at the local cemetery. To avoid paying thousands in fines that his family can’t spare, he reluctantly agrees to the proffered alternative: climbing all 46 Adirondack peaks over 4,000 feet by Labor Day accompanied by Seymour, the enthusiastic dog who belonged to the woman whose headstone he damaged. As Finn attempts the hikes, he wrestles with what it means to be a hero, a term often used for his deceased father, a local hockey legend, New York City firefighter, 9/11 first responder, and paramedic who died on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic. This verse novel is engaging and easy to follow. It encompasses varied structures, like haiku, sonnet, and found poetry. Other ephemera, such as letters, recipes, and school progress reports, create visual breaks evocative of a commonplace book. The first-person narration vividly conveys a disgruntled teenager’s feelings, including moments of humor and contemplation. The novel wrestles with loss and legacy intertwined with weighty events, challenges, and themes—PTSD, alcoholism, toxic masculinity—and their resulting impact on Finn’s emotional well-being. The supporting characters are encouraging adult role models. Characters present white.
An adventurous work whose authentic voice celebrates the outdoors and everyday heroism. (author’s note) (Verse fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781547616398
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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