Resembling a Frank Capra or Preston Sturges movie in plot and tone, this fabulistic story from Ferris has an unconventional style and offbeat sense of humor that will delight readers or exhaust them, depending on their tolerance for screwball comedies. Wealthy Horatio Alger Huntington-Ackerman’s two money-hungry brothers poison his birthday cake, with the intention of wiping out his entire family so they can inherit the riches. Instead, Horatio, wife Mousey, the butler Bentley’s wife, Flossie, and a pet chicken end up in comas. Horatio’s son Sandy and Bentley set out to nail the evil duo, and to revive their loved ones; the plot thickens when Sandy meets Sunny, a chatty nurse and love-interest, and they interact with his neighbors—the “inmates” of Walnut Manor, a home for the “distressed.” A financial subplot and a muddle of characters, defined by their eccentricities, clog the pacing of this throwback, but when the various subplots converge and the happy endings commence, the wrap-up is resounding. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-15-201590-6
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
“Chinese, Japanese, what’s the difference?” asks a suburban Seattle high-schooler. To Chinese-American Sue Hua, whose grandmother’s home was raided by Japanese soldiers in the 1930s, it means hiding her boyfriend, Japanese-American Andy Suzuki, from her family. It’s likewise for Andy, whose father thinks the Chinese are a dirty, backwards people. Although they see themselves as Americans first, the teens’ relationship is strained when they let their families’ beliefs guide them. A week-long orchestra trip to Tokyo, however, becomes an opportunity for the couple to learn more about Asian cultures. Andy, who feels like an outsider in his ancestors’ homeland, searches for the “real” Japan. Sue observes more discrimination while living with a Korean host family. Meanwhile, the families of the Asian-American “Romeo and Juliet” come to better terms than the original lovers. As in many of Namioka’s novels, identity is at the heart of this story. Although her commentaries on race can be heavy-handed, they aptly depict the complexities of discrimination in society today. An eye-opening read for all cultures. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73183-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A spectral mystery starts strong but ends differently. High-schooler Murray talks to dead people—and they talk back. Usually Murray finds speaking with the dead restful, a vast improvement over spending time with his prostitute mother. Lately, though, there’s been a restless spirit disturbing the cemetery’s peace, and Murray worries that it may be connected to a schoolmate who went missing a while back. Along with Pearl, the possessive daughter of the cemetery groundskeeper, Murray investigates the unhappy haunt. Intriguing secondary characters have their own puzzles to solve, usually compelling, though occasionally their stories dissolve in to educational lectures about drugs and mental health. The different voices add to the puzzle, as each follows his own path to solving the crime. What readers think they know is often challenged, and no neat resolution exists. Though the story ends in an unusual and slightly awkward fashion, the realistic complexities explored are ripe for discussion. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-59643-114-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Deborah Brodie/Roaring Brook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2006
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