A tough but realistic view of the inner workings of a rather nasty boy.
Norris is a boy kids love to hate—with good reason.
The second of a planned trilogy that explores the same event from the viewpoints of three children in a Nova Scotian village, each in a separate book. This one focuses on Norris, a clever bully who spends his time thinking of ways to dodge around others’ wishes to satisfy his own instead. He’s the son of the town’s largest employer, an arrogant man who’s raising the boy in his own image. Chosen to care for his teacher’s plants while she’s on maternity leave, Norris has accidentally destroyed her prized cactus. He hides the evidence, then schemes to pass the blame. He enlists the reluctant aid of Graeme, a smart boy strongly focused on marine biology, with the implication that Graeme’s father, a lobsterman who has caught a giant lobster, will end up with enough money by auctioning it to Norris’s father that Graeme will be able to visit Big Fish, a major aquarium. During the auction, Norris realizes how his father’s actions are souring the community; he rethinks his own course, but it’s far from clear that he’s reformed—no doubt a believable result. Told from Norris’ unpleasant point of view, it’s all but impossible to warm to his character, even though it’s fairly clear that he walks in his father’s shadow.
A tough but realistic view of the inner workings of a rather nasty boy. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-55453-642-9
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Wholesome? Yes. Proper hard work and teamwork values in place? Yes. Paint by numbers? Oh, yes.
Olympic gold medalist Morgan runs down the celebrity-sports-fiction checklist in this series opener: New school? Check. New friends? Check. New boyfriend? Maybe! New soccer team? Check. Inspire said team to take on snooty archrival private school? Check.
Quickly shedding perfunctory initial reservations, Devin sails into seventh grade at Kentville Middle School, makes instant connections in class and at Kangaroos soccer tryouts. She meets requisite bully Mirabelle at the latter, then goes on to be elected team co-captain. After a disastrous start to the season, she helps her team’s members and even the less-than-rigorous coach land on the same winning page. Following a sleepover, a dance, team-building drills and exercises, pep rallies, minor problem-solving and motivational strategizing, Devin prods the Kangaroos into position to beat the haughty Pinewood Panthers in a climactic rematch while also schooling Mirabelle, who has jumped ship to join the rival team.
Wholesome? Yes. Proper hard work and teamwork values in place? Yes. Paint by numbers? Oh, yes. (soccer glossary) (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: May 7, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-8570-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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