A shining gem of a book.
Friendships can be complicated—sometimes in the best way possible.
Following The Prince and the Dressmaker (2018), Wang takes bits of inspiration from her own life in her new graphic novel. Christine is a Chinese American girl living in an Asian suburb who’s focused on her music and grade school work. Change comes when her parents offer the in-law apartment her grandpa used to live in to a struggling Chinese American mother and child from church, encouraging Christine to befriend Moon, the daughter. The only thing is, they are complete opposites. Moon is vegetarian, rumored not afraid to use her fists, does not attend Chinese class, and certainly is “not Asian” according to Christine’s standards. Despite all that, the two become fast friends, stretching each other’s interests with K-pop, art, and the like. Moon later shares a deep secret with Christine: She receives visions from celestial beings that tell her she belongs with them. Trouble soon follows, with struggles with jealousy, social expectations, and devastating medical news for Moon. Wang is a master storyteller, knowing when to quietly place panels between each moment to sharpen the emotional impact or to fill it with life. It is so very rare and refreshing to see diversity within the Asian American community authentically portrayed; Wang allows each character complete ownership of their identity, freeing their truths and, in the process, allowing readers to do the same.
A shining gem of a book. (author’s note) (Graphic novel. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-18387-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Haas has done much better—a disappointment.
A pampered, then abused, pony finds her horse-crazy girl.
The novel starts from the tightly focused third-person point of view of a filly being born. Soon named Princess, she’s the last foal out of breeder Roland’s favorite Connemara mare. The perspective then shifts to Rae, a horse-obsessed almost-8-year-old who lives nearby. Rae’s mom is dead; though they live on a small farm, her father can’t afford a pony. Her grandmother, however, encourages her to keep working toward her goal, so, as a few years pass, Rae goes to horse shows, watches frenemy Eden’s riding lessons, and practices on a horse statue her dad makes from scrap metal. Meanwhile, chapters from Princess’ point of view detail how her pampered life amounts to neglect. When Roland suffers a stroke, his cartoon-villain employees abscond with his riches, leaving a field of ponies, including Princess, to starve. Eventually Princess is rescued by Tish, a character familiar from some of Haas’ other horse books (Jigsaw Pony, illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu, 2005, etc.), and ridden by Rae, who’s saved up for Tish’s riding camp. Love ensues, as does a patented happy ending. Clumsy characterization and a predictable plot make for dull reading despite a fair amount of melodrama. Roland is strangely unlikable, and Rae feels one-dimensional. All the human characters are White.
Haas has done much better—a disappointment. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68437-794-7
Page Count: 190
Publisher: Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
Opens as standard living-with-disability tale, grows into a heartwarming story about a community discovering activism.
When Ava’s only friend moves away, anxiety makes finding a new social circle daunting.
Ava’s best friend, Zelia, has always been her prop and support. It’s tough being an 11-year-old with a pacemaker; the noncompaction cardiomyopathy she was born with (Ava had heart surgery when she was only 4) combines with intense anxiety to leave Ava self-loathing and socially isolated. Her dad teaches cotillion classes for sixth graders, and Ava, like her older brothers before her, is required to attend, to dance, and to make excruciating small talk. A girl in class invites her to an improv group, and Ava reluctantly agrees. To her shock, improv, which celebrates failure, is amazing for her anxiety. But the improv theater and the waterfront where it’s located are under threat from pricey real estate developers. Saving the area from gentrification will require a committed activist, though, and Ava can barely speak in public. Cotillion and improv give Ava tool sets to use to live with anxiety, and the cause gives her a motivation. The conclusion is optimistically uncomplicated, but in a story that successfully explores the complexities of chronic illness mixed with mental illness, the comfort is welcome. Ava is biracial, Japanese American and white, and lives in a diverse community; the vice principal and Ava’s therapist are black, and the mean real estate developer is almost stereotypically white.
Opens as standard living-with-disability tale, grows into a heartwarming story about a community discovering activism. (author’s note, improv games) (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: June 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-280349-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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