Engaging, despite some dangling plot points.
A young boy travels to the past in order to fix the present.
While walking to school, Hermie Lehman, a kid in St. Louis in the late 1960s, discovers a strange hole floating above the sidewalk. He toys with the idea of stepping through but becomes afraid at the last minute. When he arrives at school, much has changed, including the fact that his best friend seems to no longer exist. He rushes home only to find a stranger living in the apartment Hermie had shared with his mother. Confused, he returns to the spot where the hole had appeared earlier; now, the disembodied voice of Martin addresses him. Martin tells Hermie that he was supposed to have stepped through the hole to be momentarily transported 100 years into the past, where, through a complex chain of events, he would have stopped a runaway cart from killing his best friend’s great-great-grandmother. This one small hiccup in the past has caused innumerable changes in the present, so Martin convinces Hermie to go back in time to try to set things right. Unfortunately, Hermie’s powerful sense of compassion and his innate decency make it difficult for him to hew to the historical script, which sometimes involves innocent people being hurt or killed. If Hermie ever does make it back to his own time, he might not even recognize it. With its straightforward prose and young protagonist, this book would be best suited for YA readers. Radt fills the story with period detail, which helps immerse readers in two of St. Louis’ historical eras, when it was fur trappers’ outpost and a bustling frontier town. His characters are fleshed out and accessible, but some key plot points, such as the identity of the mysterious Martin, are left unexplained. Also, the final act leaves things frustratingly unclear. Still, given its intriguing premise, period detail, well-crafted characters and sharp prose, this book would be an excellent choice for young readers interested in time travel or life in the late 1800s.
Engaging, despite some dangling plot points.Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-1612961545
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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