This tale of ultimate wish fulfillment is a must-read for starry-eyed fans of boy bands.
A preteen girl obsessed with a boy band learns that her biggest dream is coming true—she’s joining the band on their tour!
Artist-in-training Mackenzie is a perky seventh-grader obsessed with the dreamy boy band Perfect Storm. The group—pensive Kyle, prankster Heath, and supercute Zander—is quickly rising up through the charts. Determined to meet the impossibly blue-eyed Zander in person, Mackenzie writes him a poem and draws a poster, but she signs her middle name, Sabrina. When she learns that her mother, who works for a prestigious tour-management firm, will be taking her along to help manage PS' tour, she can’t believe her good fortune. Once on the road with the boys, she quickly learns that they’re nothing like their projected personas and that she may have more in common with Kyle than Zander. But when PS launches a fan contest and Sabrina's entry is picked for a finalist, Mac may have to come clean about what she's done—and whom she really likes. Written in diary entries and interspersed with vaguely manga-styled illustrations as well as some of Mackenzie’s comic-book stories, this hits the sweet spot for fans of Dork Diaries.
This tale of ultimate wish fulfillment is a must-read for starry-eyed fans of boy bands. (Fiction. 7-12)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-316-25972-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape.
The fourth installment in Delacre’s early-reader series centers on the rich musical traditions of Puerto Rico, once again featuring sibling tree frogs Rafi and Rosi Coquí.
Readers learn along with Rafi and Rosi as they explore bomba, plena, and salsa in three chapters. A glossary at the beginning sets readers up well to understand the Spanish vocabulary, including accurate phoneticization for non-Spanish speakers. The stories focus on Rafi and Rosi’s relationship within a musical context. For example, in one chapter Rafi finds out that he attracts a larger audience playing his homemade güiro with Rosi’s help even though he initially excluded her: “Big brothers only.” Even when he makes mistakes, as the older brother, Rafi consoles Rosi when she is embarrassed or angry at him. In each instance, their shared joy for music and dance ultimately shines through any upsets—a valuable reflection of unity. Informational backmatter and author’s sources are extensive. Undoubtedly these will help teachers, librarians, and parents to develop Puerto Rican cultural programs, curriculum, or home activities to extend young readers’ learning. The inclusion of instructions to make one’s own homemade güiro is a thoughtful addition. The Spanish translation, also by Delacre and published simultaneously, will require a more advanced reader than the English one to recognize and comprehend contractions (“pa’bajo-pa-pa’rriba”) and relatively sophisticated vocabulary.
A welcome, well-researched reflection of cultural pride in the early-reader landscape. (Early reader. 7-9)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-89239-429-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Children's Book Press
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
Delightfully weird and whimsical.
A 13-year-old girl and a colony of bats overcome losses in this middle-grade debut from Ready Player One author Cline.
After Opal B. Flats’ mother dies, she goes to live with Uncle Roscoe on the family farm in the Texas Hill Country. Her first night there, she has an alien encounter and subsequently discovers that she can communicate with the Mexican free-tailed bats living in a nearby cave. Their connection becomes essential when Opal, Uncle Roscoe, and the bats, through differing circumstances, are forced to find new homes. Opal and Uncle Roscoe, who read white, convince the bats to accompany them to Austin, “the only place in this whole stone-hearted state where weirdos are welcome!” If Opal and Uncle Roscoe have a slow start with fitting in, it’s even more difficult for a colony of over a million bats, especially when prejudice against them is being systematically reinforced by a greedy councilman whose pesticide business suffers when the bats start eating insects. The third-person narration unfolds in a homey style that’s colored with references to music and famous names that contribute to the sense of place, including Ann Richards, Selena, and Willie Nelson. Entries from Opal’s scrapbook are interspersed throughout. Readers will be relieved that, despite the hardships Opal and the bats must overcome, they ultimately prevail, succeeding in making friends and new homes for themselves in this celebratory primer on bats and belonging. Westell’s delicate, atmospheric illustrations greatly enhance the text.
Delightfully weird and whimsical. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 9780316460583
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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