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CHANGING MICHAEL

Name: CHANGING MICHAEL
Author: Jeff Schilling
ISBN: 978-1-61088-122-7

by Jeff Schilling ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 2014

Like the main character, not as smart as it thinks it is. (Fiction. 12-16)

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A teen provocateur decides to befriend and help a social outcast.

Matthew is all about entertaining himself. He sees life as a series of games and challenges. A big challenge would be getting the school loner, Michael, some street cred. The book goes through the motions, following the basic outline of a romantic comedy that just happens to feature two guys. They meet cute, they tackle a problem together, they fall out. Though they do not come together again just in time for the book to finish, readers are left with a hint of rapprochement as Matthew pursues a friendship with Michael’s younger half sister. The author doubles down on the clichés by trotting out such reliable standards as an estranged father, seemingly distant stepfather and preoccupied moms. And wouldn’t you know it, all the time spent changing Michael ends up changing Matthew a bit too. The two leads are hard to take, which is unfortunate. Michael is a dull, cowardly introvert with little spark of life, regardless of his sad-sack back story. He’s preferable to narrator Matthew, though, who is intensely unlikable: cocky, vain, inconsiderate, obnoxious. Although the book deserves high marks for consistency of voice, Matthew's character growth is so deliberate and his voice so abrasive that readers may find any redemption too little, too late.

Like the main character, not as smart as it thinks it is. (Fiction. 12-16)

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-61088-122-7

Page Count: 191

Publisher: Bancroft Press

Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2014

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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DON'T CALL ME HERO

by Ray Villareal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2011

A good story with some unexpected twists

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After saving the life of a famous model, a 14-year-old Mexican-American boy learns the pressures of popularity and the definition of true heroism.

Dallas freshman Rawly Sánchez knows that life is not perfect. His older brother Jaime is in prison, while his mother’s Mexican restaurant is barely staying afloat. Now, he can’t even visit his brother on Saturdays anymore, or he will miss the required tutoring for the algebra class he is failing. Small bursts of happiness come in the comic books he loves and in hanging out with his nerdy, often-annoying, wisecracking Jewish best friend Nevin Steinberg. Things take a turn for the worse when someone accidentally sets a pig loose in his mom’s restaurant, and the incident makes the local news. Then, Nevin talks Rawly into performing as a duo at the school talent show, where he makes a fool of himself in front of his crush, Miyoko. Everything changes when Rawly misses his bus stop and ends up rescuing 22-year-old model Nikki Demetrius when her car plunges into a river. Instantly, Rawly is on the local and national news, hailed as a hero for saving Nikki’s life. The third-person narration follows Rawley’s journey as he learns who his real friends are and the difference between comic-book and real-world heroes.

A good story with some unexpected twists . (Fiction. 12-15)

Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2011

ISBN: 978-1-55885-711-7

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Arte Público

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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by Ray Villareal

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by Ray Villareal

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by Ray Villareal

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THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ME

by Karen Rivers ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2012

Though the footnotes feel gimmicky and distracting, readers will likely be able to look past them (or just skip over them)...

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Cleverly woven through the titular encyclopedia—with entries as seemingly mundane as “Apple” and “Oxen”—is the touchingly real and often humorous story of a preteen’s struggles with family, friendship and first love.

Isadora “Tink” Aaron-Martin, nearly 13, means to make the most of her recent grounding by using her time on house arrest to write an encyclopedia, heavily annotated with footnotes. Frustrated by her reputation as the peacemaker, Tink’s entries about life with an autistic brother are fresh and painfully honest. Rivers doesn’t tiptoe around the destructive impact the syndrome can have on a family. Rather, through Tink, she explores what it’s like to grow up in a house where everyone is constantly walking on eggshells, waiting for the next violent outburst. But family isn’t the only place where Tink feels invisible. She also walks in the shadow of her “best friend,” Freddie Blue Anderson, who seems to care more about being “pops” (popular) than about Tink. It isn’t until a blue-haired skateboarder named Kai moves in next door that she gradually finds the strength to put herself first, both at home and at school.

Though the footnotes feel gimmicky and distracting, readers will likely be able to look past them (or just skip over them) and cheer for Tink as she comes into her own. (Fiction. 12-14)