by Jasbinder Bilan ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2020
A well-plotted narrative rooted in Hinduism.
When her papa disappears and moneylenders come to collect on old debts, Asha knows it’s up to her to save her family farm.
Eleven-year-old Asha loves her village of Moormanali, in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, where her ancestors have lived for generations. Times are hard, however, so her papa has gone to the big city of Zandapur to find work to help pay for the family farm. But when he disappears for four months without sending any wages home, Asha’s mother is forced to take a loan from a cruel moneylender who demands repayment. Determined to find her father, Asha decides to set off for Zandapur with her best friend, Jeevan—and with the help of a lamagaia, a vulturelike bird that Asha is convinced is the spirit of her long-dead grandmother. Bilan has created a richly drawn setting, fast-paced plot, and a strong but tender first-person-present narrative voice. The last third of the book, in which Bilan fully commits to the story’s more magical elements, is the most enjoyable, while the first two-thirds rely more on conservative Hinduism and therefore feel less imaginative. At times, the interactions between Jeevan and Asha fall along gender-stereotypical lines, but the most troubling aspect of the book is the title, which seems to appropriate Native American beliefs about spirit animals that do not have a parallel in Hinduism.
A well-plotted narrative rooted in Hinduism. (author’s note) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-57105-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020
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by Raina Telgemeier & illustrated by Raina Telgemeier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2012
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
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SEEN & HEARD
by Alan Gratz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2017
Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense.
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In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? Parallel stories of three different middle school–aged refugees—Josef from Nazi Germany in 1938, Isabel from 1994 Cuba, and Mahmoud from 2015 Aleppo—eventually intertwine for maximum impact.
Three countries, three time periods, three brave protagonists. Yet these three refugee odysseys have so much in common. Each traverses a landscape ruled by a dictator and must balance freedom, family, and responsibility. Each initially leaves by boat, struggles between visibility and invisibility, copes with repeated obstacles and heart-wrenching loss, and gains resilience in the process. Each third-person narrative offers an accessible look at migration under duress, in which the behavior of familiar adults changes unpredictably, strangers exploit the vulnerabilities of transients, and circumstances seem driven by random luck. Mahmoud eventually concludes that visibility is best: “See us….Hear us. Help us.” With this book, Gratz accomplishes a feat that is nothing short of brilliant, offering a skillfully wrought narrative laced with global and intergenerational reverberations that signal hope for the future. Excellent for older middle grade and above in classrooms, book groups, and/or communities looking to increase empathy for new and existing arrivals from afar.
Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense. (maps, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: July 25, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-88083-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2017
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by Alan Gratz ; illustrated by Judit Tondora
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