A sympathetic portrayal of adolescent angst with a feel-good—if not entirely convincing—resolution.
Eleven-year-old Angelica hides her embarrassment about her size until a caring adult encourages her to express her thoughts and emotions freely.
Angelica, called Jelly, is the class clown. Known for doing impressions, she laughs off the occasional unkind remark from a classmate, then writes brief poems in her journal detailing the pain she feels. Although she talks about typical adolescent concerns with best friends Kayma and Sanvi, they, like her mother, are unaware of her inner turmoil. After a breakup with her current boyfriend, Jelly’s mom connects with Lennon, a guitar-playing songwriter. It’s Lennon who winds up being Jelly’s (somewhat unlikely) confidant and the one who gives her the confidence to share her innermost thoughts with family and friends. British author Cotterill packs a lot into this import. Jelly’s grandfather is a bully with old-fashioned (racist and misogynistic) values, and her aunt is coping with depression. Although it’s delicately handled, Jelly is well aware of her single mom’s sexual activity, a realistic touch that some may find disquieting. Jelly’s first-person narration is appropriately self-centered but also results in most characters appearing somewhat one-dimensional. Some Briticisms have been altered but others remain, creating a slightly off-kilter tone at times. Jelly, her family, and Lennon are white; Kayma and Sanvi are black and Indian, respectively; other racial and/or ethnic diversity is implied by some names but not explicitly acknowledged.
A sympathetic portrayal of adolescent angst with a feel-good—if not entirely convincing—resolution. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4998-1006-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Ultimately more than a little full of itself, but well-stocked with big themes, inventively spun fairy-tale tropes, and...
Good has won every fairy-tale contest with Evil for centuries, but a dark sorcerer’s scheme to turn the tables comes to fruition in this ponderous closer.
Broadening conflict swirls around frenemies Agatha and Sophie as the latter joins rejuvenated School Master Rafal, who has dispatched an army of villains from Capt. Hook to various evil stepmothers to take stabs (literally) at changing the ends of their stories. Meanwhile, amid a general slaughter of dwarves and billy goats, Agatha and her rigid but educable true love, Tedros, flee for protection to the League of Thirteen. This turns out to be a company of geriatric versions of characters, from Hansel and Gretel (in wheelchairs) to fat and shrewish Cinderella, led by an enigmatic Merlin. As the tale moves slowly toward climactic battles and choices, Chainani further lightens the load by stuffing it with memes ranging from a magic ring that must be destroyed and a “maleficent” gown for Sophie to this oddly familiar line: “Of all the tales in all the kingdoms in all the Woods, you had to walk into mine.” Rafal’s plan turns out to be an attempt to prove that love can be twisted into an instrument of Evil. Though the proposition eventually founders on the twin rocks of true friendship and family ties, talk of “balance” in the aftermath at least promises to give Evil a fighting chance in future fairy tales. Bruno’s polished vignettes at each chapter’s head and elsewhere add sophisticated visual notes.
Ultimately more than a little full of itself, but well-stocked with big themes, inventively spun fairy-tale tropes, and flashes of hilarity. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: July 21, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-210495-3
Page Count: 672
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato.
The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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