Double the feelings, double the fun.
As if growing up isn’t hard enough, twins also have to face growing apart.
Ever since they can remember, twins Jake and Lily Wambold, born on the California Zephyr train, have sleepwalked on the eve of their birthday and awoken at their local train station, where they distinctly smell pickles. They have never been able to explain this or how they can occasionally read each other’s minds or finish each other’s sentences. The twins name their secret gift “goombla.” It's now the summer before middle school. The brother and sister alternate telling each chapter as spunky, tomboy Lily worries that they’ll lose their goombla and sensible Jake looks forward to living separately for a change. Each sibling’s chatty narration reveals a range of emotions. Lily, feeling lost for the first time in her life, leans on her hippie grandfather, whose wife and soul mate passed away and who knows what it’s like to lose half of oneself. Just when she’s given up on finding herself through ridiculous hobbies, friendship comes to her. Meanwhile, Jake immediately relishes his time with his new Death Rays posse as they scout out social outcast “goobers” to pick on. When he realizes that goobers can be brave and even friends, he reconsiders his allegiance. Perhaps Jake and Lily aren’t so different after all.
Double the feelings, double the fun. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-028135-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2012
A refreshing adventure featuring family, friendship, and the power of creating new recipes.
Shad Hadid plans to learn everything about being an alchemist—if necromancers don’t get him first.
After things didn’t work out with his hostile stepfather and stepsiblings, Shad left Lebanon with his father and grandparents to start over in Maine. Since his father and grandfather were killed in a car crash, it’s been just him and Teta, his grandmother. Eleven-year-old Shad spends his time baking new concoctions, staring in the windows of the only Arabic bakery in town, and dodging his bully (and one-time friend), Sarah Decker, a White girl with xenophobic parents. When he stumbles into an alley behind the bakery that he shouldn’t have been able to see, Shad learns that he is descended from alchemists. Eager to learn more, he enrolls in the Alexandria Academy only to find that they dismiss alchemy. Even worse, Sarah and Yakoub, his menacing stepbrother, are also students there. Clearly, it will be up to Shad to restore the alchemists to greatness and to deliver the school from the clutches of necromancers who seek to discover the key to immortality. As Shad makes friends, confronts bullies, and learns how alchemy is like both baking and science, he grows and gains confidence in himself. Alexandria Academy offers a fresh take on magic schools with dark secrets, and Shad and his friends, most of whom are Middle Eastern and North African, are engaging.
A refreshing adventure featuring family, friendship, and the power of creating new recipes. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-309481-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Make a move on this book—its heart will cheer your soul.
When Sunny joins the school dance team, she discovers some important things about friendship—and about herself.
Sunny Park, a Korean American seventh grader, has been best friends with Bailey Stern, a White girl, since third grade. Sunny prides herself on being a good friend: She is always there for Bailey, supporting her through her parents’ divorce and being available at a moment’s notice. She doesn’t even let Bailey’s disparaging remarks about her Korean identity or her love of K-pop bother her. It’s always been just the two of them, doing everything together, like taking ballet—and then both quitting right after Sunny landed the lead in The Nutcracker. Now, Bailey wants to try out for Ranchito Mesa Middle School’s dance team, and Sunny, who suffers from social anxiety disorder, agrees to do it too. But when she makes the team and Bailey doesn’t, Sunny begins the journey of discovering her own resilience, making new friends, and realizing what really makes for strong relationships. Kim does a stellar job of portraying different types of friendships, illustrating how healthy and unhealthy ones can differ and creating an authentic road map for tweens who are navigating the social complexities of middle school. At the same time, she infuses Sunny’s growth as a friend, an artist, and a leader with fun and joy—especially during the dance scenes.
Make a move on this book—its heart will cheer your soul. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780525555001
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Kokila
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
