by Jo Cotterill ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2020
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
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by Johnnie Christmas ; illustrated by Johnnie Christmas ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 17, 2022
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story.
Leaving Brooklyn behind, Black math-whiz and puzzle lover Bree starts a new life in Florida, where she’ll be tossed into the deep end in more ways than one. Keeping her head above water may be the trickiest puzzle yet.
While her dad is busy working and training in IT, Bree struggles at first to settle into Enith Brigitha Middle School, largely due to the school’s preoccupation with swimming—from the accomplishments of its namesake, a Black Olympian from Curaçao, to its near victory at the state swimming championships. But Bree can’t swim. To illustrate her anxiety around this fact, the graphic novel’s bright colors give way to gray thought bubbles with thick, darkened outlines expressing Bree’s deepest fears and doubts. This poignant visual crowds some panels just as anxious feelings can crowd the thoughts of otherwise star students like Bree. Ultimately, learning to swim turns out to be easy enough with the help of a kind older neighbor—a Black woman with a competitive swimming past of her own as well as a rich and bittersweet understanding of Black Americans’ relationship with swimming—who explains to Bree how racist obstacles of the past can become collective anxiety in the present. To her surprise, Bree, with her newfound water skills, eventually finds herself on the school’s swim team, navigating competition, her anxiety, and new, meaningful relationships.
Problem-solving through perseverance and friendship is the real win in this deeply smart and inspiring story. (Graphic fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-305677-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperAlley
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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PERSPECTIVES
by Varsha Bajaj ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2019
The novel’s dryness is mitigated in part by its exploration of immigrant identity, xenophobia, and hate crimes.
Seventh graders Karina Chopra and Chris Daniels live in Houston, Texas, and although they are next-door neighbors, they have different interests and their paths rarely cross.
In fact, Karina, whose family is Indian, doesn’t want to be friends with Chris, whose family is white, because the boys he hangs out with are mean to her. Things change when Karina’s immigrant paternal grandfather, Papa, moves in with Karina’s family. Papa begins tutoring Chris in math, and, as a result, Chris and Karina begin spending time with each other. Karina even comes to realize that Chris is not at all like the rest of his friends and that she should give him a second chance. One day, when Karina, Papa, and Chris are walking home from school, something terrible happens: They are assaulted by a stranger who calls Papa a Muslim terrorist, and he is badly injured. The children find themselves wanting to speak out for Papa and for other first-generation Americans like him. Narrated by Karina and Chris in alternate chapters, Bajaj’s novel gives readers varied and valuable perspectives of what it means to be first- and third-generation Indian Americans in an increasingly diverse nation. Unfortunately, however, Bajaj’s characters are quite bland, and the present-tense narrative voices of the preteen protagonists lack both distinction and authenticity.
The novel’s dryness is mitigated in part by its exploration of immigrant identity, xenophobia, and hate crimes. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-525-51724-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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