In this portrait of a moral dilemma, Cheripko (Imitate the Tiger, 1996, etc.) presents an insecure 15-year-old boy with a deformed arm who can’t decide which is more important: the approval of his friends or telling the truth about a sexual attack he witnessed. Jeremy, or “Rat,” as he is known in his high school, begins by reluctantly testifying against a popular basketball coach, whom he saw assaulting a cheerleader. With the coach convicted and sent to jail, the entire school, and especially the basketball team, ostracize Jeremy. The school’s science teacher takes over as the new coach, imposing on the team not only strong discipline and excellent basketball knowledge, but also a strict moral code. He encourages Jeremy to remain as the team manager despite the hostility of the players, especially Simpson, who threatens violence. Jeremy first believes he’s done wrong by telling the truth, yet Simpson’s uncontrollable behavior appalls him. Cheripko, however, doesn’t portray Simpson as merely a cardboard-cutout villain; instead, he allows readers to discover that Simpson suffers from a handicap less visible but just as debilitating as Jeremy’s withered arm. There’s enough basketball action to attract fans of the sport and the drama keeps flowing. Written with honesty and insight into teenaged angst, this should easily maintain young readers’ interest as well as serve as a discussion starter. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 1-59078-034-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a...
Han’s leisurely paced, somewhat somber narrative revisits several beach-house summers in flashback through the eyes of now 15-year-old Isabel, known to all as Belly.
Belly measures her growing self by these summers and by her lifelong relationship with the older boys, her brother and her mother’s best friend’s two sons. Belly’s dawning awareness of her sexuality and that of the boys is a strong theme, as is the sense of summer as a separate and reflective time and place: Readers get glimpses of kisses on the beach, her best friend’s flirtations during one summer’s visit, a first date. In the background the two mothers renew their friendship each year, and Lauren, Belly’s mother, provides support for her friend—if not, unfortunately, for the children—in Susannah’s losing battle with breast cancer. Besides the mostly off-stage issue of a parent’s severe illness there’s not much here to challenge most readers—driving, beer-drinking, divorce, a moment of surprise at the mothers smoking medicinal pot together.
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a diversion. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: May 5, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6823-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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