When Great-uncle Benson roars in on his motorcycle for a long visit, ten-year-old Rachel discovers a soul mate: he listens to her, cares about the things she cares about, and, like her, treats everyone, adult or child, with intelligent respect. He's disturbed, though, that Rachel's family doesn't have sit-down dinners—''How in the world can you have a family, if you don't have family dinner?'' Benson whips up a series of tempting concoctions, and Rachel persuades her parents, and her older brother and sister, to give the custom a try. Cutler infuses her story with the same friendly domestic air that Patricia Maclachlan brings to her writing. The characters here (with the notable exception of the Mrs. Malaprop of a housekeeper—``It's as plain as the nose on your plate'') aren't as eccentric as those in, say, Unclaimed Treasures (1984), but they're distinct and believable, with stories of their own. The experimental meal is a total failure, but the plot takes a gentle twist at the end when Benson, Rachel, and a group of friends and neighbors sit down together the next day over leftovers, proving that the sociability of family-style dinners can survive, even if not in a particular family. Caswell's precise soft-pencil illustrations are unusually perceptive and creatively staged to dramatize relationships. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-374-32267-8
Page Count: 117
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
When David, 11, hears one of his parents voicing the title's question during a bitter discussion of their separate vacation plans, he's understandably hurt at being considered little more than an inconvenience. The plot in this unvarnished problem novel follows an unsurprising course—dropped off with his wise grandmother in a tiny seaside town, David meets local young people who have their own problems, writes therapeutic stories as he worries about whether his parents are planning to divorce, and repairs his self-esteem by finding friends and rescuing a toddler from the ocean. David's parents are definitely the villains here, especially his moody, career-driven mother, who has no understanding of or interest in her son's internal life. Readers who also feel like afterthoughts will find David a kindred soul; but though Roberts makes some platitudinous observations (``One time or another, most of us feel...caught up in things we can't control''), her actual solution is hardly feasible: when his parents finally come for him, David firmly tells them to go away and settle their marital problems first. Useful, perhaps, but simplistic. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: March 31, 1993
ISBN: 0-689-31793-X
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1993
Leaving behind her admiring younger sister Jane (15), Julia moves to New York to become a writer. Penning reams of letters, she vividly conjures up an exciting life: she's her writing teacher's darling, is about to have a short story published, and has a fabulous apartment. But when Jane visits, she discovers just how good Julia is at creating fictions—she's disappeared, leaving behind a post-office box, an indifferent teacher, and (it seems) her dreams. In searching for her sister, Jane gets a story about her as well as the letters into the newspapers, and a publisher offers to turn it all into a book; readers are left with the impression that the next time Jane answers the phone it'll be Julia. Despite its compelling premise, this slim book gives way to quick, convenient, even disappointing answers. Still, though some of the early implications are left unexplored, the emotional truths are beautifully underplayed, leaving readers the wrenching task of contrasting Julia's enthusiastic missives with her trail of heartbreak. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 31, 1993
ISBN: 0-689-31728-X
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1993
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
