A few missed notes don’t prevent this novel from delivering a satisfying story even if the tune is familiar.
A toe-tapping fantasy novel mixes music and mystery.
Aficionados of middle-grade fantasy may find the premise recognizable: A parentless 12-year-old with unusual magical gifts is summoned to attend an elite boarding school in order to hone their craft. What makes this, YA author Khoury’s middle-grade debut, stand out is the focus on a special type of magic involving spells cast by playing musical instruments. After narrowly being accepted into Mystwick to study Musicraft with the most talented musicians in the world, Amelia Jones must prove that she has what it takes to perform musical spells and secure her spot at the school—or risk expulsion. Amelia struggles with difficult classes, mountains of homework, plus a roommate who hates her, and she quickly learns that someone—or something—seems to have it out for her. Staying at Mystwick will be more difficult than she ever imagined. Amelia’s only hope is the music she knows she is capable of creating, but she must find the courage and confidence to play it. Frenna’s lightly cartoony grayscale illustrations bring some of the pivotal scenes to life. Sparse physical descriptions paired with student names from a variety of cultures seem like a missed opportunity to describe ethnic and racial diversity explicitly; Amelia is white. Victoria, a guitarist who uses a wheelchair, is a featured secondary character.
A few missed notes don’t prevent this novel from delivering a satisfying story even if the tune is familiar. (Fantasy. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-62563-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
A slow, slight story enlivened by likable characters and a nice dose of humor. Twice.
Six 14-year-old boys, all classmates, must sit tight in their school bathroom while they wait out a storm warning, a forced interaction that causes the barriers between them to fall.
Although there isn’t much story, it’s told twice, once as a novella, the second time as a play. The plot is a kind of stripped-down, reasonably witty, all-male middle school version of The Breakfast Club, though it lacks that property’s heart and gravitas. Readers will both like and recognize the diverse group of characters, such as the brainiac or the hostile, seemingly dumb one, and the jokes mostly land. But for boys of that age, these characters are remarkably live-and-let-live, with no harsh teasing of the anxious new kid with the stuffed cat, for example. This goodwill creates minor rather than major tension between them, which, coupled with the lack of action, makes the novella feel rather sluggish. It’s better as a play, partially because it’s cut to its essentials, partially because the story’s shape, simple set, and group of individuals artificially stuck together as interior revelations play out lends itself to the form. Drama teachers may find it a useful demonstration of how to turn prose into dramatic writing.
A slow, slight story enlivened by likable characters and a nice dose of humor. Twice. (Fiction/drama. 9-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-5223-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
An intergenerational tale that highlights a girl’s growing confidence and awareness.
Her grandfather’s story about growing up during the Korean War mobilizes a girl against racism in her own town.
When someone defaces the gym of her suburban Maryland middle school with racist graffiti, Korean American Junie Kim at first doesn’t want to join her outraged friends in protesting. Instead, Junie, who has been facing the racist taunts of a school bus bully every morning, becomes cynical, negative, and depressed. Her resistance alienates her friends, and she endures a brief bout of suicidal ideation; fortunately, her family finds her a therapist she trusts. A school assignment to interview an elder gives Junie a chance to hear about her beloved grandfather’s boyhood during the Korean War. His harrowing tale and her grandmother’s similarly traumatic story offer valuable perspective, and she is inspired to take action by working with her friends to create a video about diversity for an upcoming assembly. Extraneous details sometimes slow the story, the dialogue can feel unrealistically expository, and the alternating narration and time jumps are at times disorienting, but the brutal depictions of life during the Korean War, including the desperate hunt for food and the chaos of evacuation, ring true. Junie’s love for her grandparents—and theirs for her—is movingly portrayed. Their conversations and Junie’s relationships with her diverse friend group sensitively unpack a range of subjects relating to identity and prejudice.
An intergenerational tale that highlights a girl’s growing confidence and awareness. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-298798-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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