by Jedah Mayberry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2013
More than just a complex coming-of-age story, this potent book makes an indelible impression.
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In this debut novel, two brothers remain close until a tragic death rocks their family.
The Hopkins family—being of mixed race—stands out in the small town of Preston, Connecticut. Fourth-generation members Langston and Trajan are three years apart. Langston, who excels at taekwondo, dreams of competing in the Olympics. But when he falls for his beautiful classmate Angelica Chu, her older brother, Albert, self-proclaimed protector of his sister, fights Langston. He pushes him, and Langston ends up hitting his head, which causes permanent brain damage; he endures seizures and develops a learning disorder. The boys’ father, Chester, and their mother, Dottie, a kind, plainspoken teacher’s aide, drift apart—and Chester takes up with another woman. The boys’ grandfather Tuke fills in, steadily imparting wisdom about love and life to his grandsons. And then tragedy strikes the Hopkins family again; Langston dies while being held in police custody for simple trespassing. Dottie mourns, holed up in her bedroom, while Trajan wanders—following his friends toward trouble, exploring the newly discovered world of love and sex, and feeling lost without Langston to smooth the way for him. Dramatic surprises round out the conclusion, with descriptions worthy of cinematic translation. Quotable quotes abound (“Run from your troubles, and there’s no place the devil won’t find you. Stand your ground, and the devil just may go nosing around elsewhere”) as well as offbeat humor and lovely prose. Some phrases are shining standouts and must be reread to fully appreciate their subtlety, curvy flow, and euphonious cadence. But there are challenges for the reader in Mayberry’s semiautobiographical tale: the plot isn’t linear, and the author makes unexpected stops along the way, sometimes suddenly diving into the background of a character who’s just been introduced. This hopscotching narrative might be off-putting to some, but to a patient reader, it imparts a multilayered richness to the story and a striking clarity to the characters’ relationships.
More than just a complex coming-of-age story, this potent book makes an indelible impression.Pub Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-938416-13-2
Page Count: 330
Publisher: River Grove Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by J.D. Salinger ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 15, 1951
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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