A sludgy, overwritten tale of young lovers coming to grief after they protest a proposed mall near their upstate New York town. When Kris and Jason learn of plans to plow down Pinehaven, the closest thing to wilderness near their town, they form a group dubbed Pulse to fight the proposal. Despite the opposition of the school principal—who has political ambitions tied to the development—Pulse attracts many ardent activists and stages a tense but nonviolent demonstration. The planning board nonetheless approves the mall, and Jason and Kris head for the Adirondacks to regroup; Don Lopus, a cartoonish villain, follows them and torches their tent. Kris burns to death before Jason's eyes. These events are related in mawkish prose marked by trite conversations, tedious details, and somewhat purple passages: ``Kris gently blew out her laughter in a long, warm stream that flowed through my sweatshirt like the thin breath of a thousand bees after they'd finished eating honey. My whole body sweetened. . . .'' Heavy foreshadowing leaves the tragic climax unsurprising, and between extraneous characters and sketchy subplots, the book concludes almost before it is underway. Pinehaven is saved by the fortuitous discovery of a burial site; Lopus, Pulse, and the corrupt politicians drop abruptly from the story. Readers with an appreciation for long professions of teenage love may like this, but the superficial treatment of environmental and empowerment issues, plus the unresolved plot elements, won't win many hearts. (Fiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-525-45396-2
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1996
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a...
Han’s leisurely paced, somewhat somber narrative revisits several beach-house summers in flashback through the eyes of now 15-year-old Isabel, known to all as Belly.
Belly measures her growing self by these summers and by her lifelong relationship with the older boys, her brother and her mother’s best friend’s two sons. Belly’s dawning awareness of her sexuality and that of the boys is a strong theme, as is the sense of summer as a separate and reflective time and place: Readers get glimpses of kisses on the beach, her best friend’s flirtations during one summer’s visit, a first date. In the background the two mothers renew their friendship each year, and Lauren, Belly’s mother, provides support for her friend—if not, unfortunately, for the children—in Susannah’s losing battle with breast cancer. Besides the mostly off-stage issue of a parent’s severe illness there’s not much here to challenge most readers—driving, beer-drinking, divorce, a moment of surprise at the mothers smoking medicinal pot together.
The wish-fulfilling title and sun-washed, catalog-beautiful teens on the cover will be enticing for girls looking for a diversion. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: May 5, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6823-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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