Two girls from different worlds and cultures come together in this deft representation of immigration and multicultural friendship. Escaping the horror of war, persecution and destruction of their Albanian life, Drita and her family emigrate from Kosovo to New York City. Thrown into the school environment of rival groups and peer discrimination, Drita’s lack of English, coupled with her refugee status, immediately places her in a vulnerable position. Simultaneously, Maxie, a typical urban African-American girl, struggles to stay out of trouble despite peer influences and is assigned the task of learning about the new girl as part of her social-studies project. Brought together in this way, the two girls overcome barriers of language and custom to resolve issues they both have in common. Alternating chapters in the voice of each girl reveal more similarities than differences. Both are missing mothers; Maxie is still adjusting to the accidental death of hers, while Drita is coping with her mother’s debilitating depression since leaving their war-torn country. Loving and level-headed grandmothers act as surrogates. Lombard does a fine job of portraying characters displaying growth through some serious circumstances while maintaining their childlike qualities. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-399-24380-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006
A timely middle-grade fantasy grounded in themes of friendship and truth.
Recruited by a magical bird to thwart encroaching creatures, an insecure teen explores her sexual identity.
Seventh grader Eren Evers likes escaping on her bike into the woods near her Oregon home, “away from school, her mom, and even her friends.” Ambivalent about boys and dating, Eren reluctantly accepts an invitation to a dance with classmate Alex Ruiz because her best friends expect it rather than considering what she really wants. After Eren rescues a small, frost-covered bird named Oriti-ti, it speaks, pronouncing her its champion in the war its nongendered bird community is waging against villainous frostfangs—icy, wolflike creatures who exploit self-doubt to undermine their prey. When Oriti-ti saves Eren and Alex from an attacking frostfang, Alex also commits to the fight. Eren’s friendship with Alex grows, and she develops clarity about her feelings through her friendship with his older sister, Luisa, who is asexual and panromantic. With a frostfang attack on the school dance looming, Eren must accept her true self: Asserting her aromantic identity helps her be strong and brave enough to stop the frostfangs. Using frostfangs as a metaphor for the debilitating effects of self-doubt, this contemporary fantasy realistically examines Eren’s confusion, fear of alienation, and suffocation as she grapples with her true sexuality. Multidimensional supporting characters with their own identity issues and vulnerabilities add veracity and depth. Eren reads as White; Alex is Latinx.
A timely middle-grade fantasy grounded in themes of friendship and truth. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 10, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-78344-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite its lackluster execution, this story’s simple premise and basic vocabulary make it suitable for younger readers...
From the author of the Animorphs series comes this earnest novel in verse about an orphaned Sudanese war refugee with a passion for cows, who has resettled in Minnesota with relatives.
Arriving in winter, Kek spots a cow that reminds him of his father’s herd, a familiar sight in an alien world. Later he returns with Hannah, a friendly foster child, and talks the cow’s owner into hiring him to look after it. When the owner plans to sell the cow, Kek becomes despondent. Full of wide-eyed amazement and unalloyed enthusiasm for all things American, Kek is a generic—bordering on insulting—stereotype. His tribe, culture and language are never identified; personal details, such as appearance and age, are vague or omitted. Lacking the quirks and foibles that bring characters to life, Kek seems more a composite of traits designed to instruct readers than an engaging individual in his own right.
Despite its lackluster execution, this story’s simple premise and basic vocabulary make it suitable for younger readers interested in the plight of war refugees. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-312-36765-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2007
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