Addresses serious issues with sensitivity and compassion, but the lightweight narrative lacks substance.
A 12-year-old girl experiences a year of discovery and transformation in Srager’s debut YA novel.
In the fall of 1949, Ruthie Treglia is a bright, sensitive tomboy growing up in the Washington Heights section of New York City. A high IQ test score means that at 13, she’ll start high school a year earlier than her peers. The coming year brings many changes for Ruthie, and she decides to keep a journal that she calls RR, or Ruthie’s Reflections, in which she records her everyday joys and frustrations and the pivotal events that ultimately shape the course of her teenage years. Over the course of the year, Ruthie spends time with her best friend, Karen; overcomes social awkwardness at a New Year’s Eve party; and has lunch at the Stork Club with her flamboyant aunt. She also reconnects with her Jewish heritage and learns about the flights of her friends’ families from the Nazis during World War II. Ruthie’s experiences culminate in a road trip to Florida, where she encounters racial and religious prejudice. Srager’s coming-of-age story has a solid, focused structure and a likable protagonist in Ruthie. Presenting the story in the form of a journal gives the narrative a sense of immediacy and shows how Ruthie matures during the year. Friendships are important to Ruthie, and Srager deftly weaves details from the lives of Ruthie’s friends into the narrative, presenting a well-developed picture of her social life. Ruthie’s concerns about leaving her friends behind when she starts at a new school and her nervousness about beginning her first real romantic relationship may resonate with readers experiencing similar situations. Despite the novel’s successes, the narrative suffers at times from a lack of development. Srager’s short novel progress with brief, fast-paced chapters—so fast that the development of key characters, such as Ruthie’s father, Joe, is frequently impeded.
Addresses serious issues with sensitivity and compassion, but the lightweight narrative lacks substance.Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-1491705148
Page Count: 138
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner.
On Christmas Eve, a large apartment house on 133rd Street in the Bronx becomes the site of a multicultural neighborhood party.
Manzano, a Pura Belpré honoree and Maria on Sesame Street, teams up with Caldecott honoree Priceman for this vibrant story. The setting is the apartment of a Puerto Rican family preparing their special Christmas Eve dinner. Mami is trying to cook a huge roast, but it won’t fit in her small oven. Papi and José decide to take the roast to their friend who owns a pizzeria to see if he can help. On their way, they meet several neighbors and friends of different ages and ethnic groups; all are stressed, lonely, or worried about money. When the father and son return with the cooked roast, its delicious aroma transforms everyone who smells it, wafting them along on swirls of contented delight. They all float up the stairs to the apartment for a Christmas Eve dinner, fitting everyone into just one small apartment—a Christmas miracle. The polished text uses dramatic pacing, dialogue, emotion, and characterization to excellent effect. Priceman’s dazzling illustrations are filled with pulsating energy, glowing colors, and the radiant smiles of the neighbors who find community together. A magical, hopeful vitality permeates the art, reflected in multiple swirling elements wound through the illustrations.
A scrumptious treat to be savored and enjoyed, just like a fine holiday dinner. (Picture book. 4-9)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-689-87887-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
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