A compassionate, witty, affirmation that it’s OK to speak up.
Ortega presents the story of a precocious young girl on a journey to find her voice and heal from the past in this middle-grade novel.
Dominican-American Isla Delgado lives in a cramped city apartment with her pregnant Mami, her stepfather, Daddy Leon, and her younger brother, Devon. Isla tends to keep her problems to herself—and she’s got plenty of them, including struggling with her fourth-grade schoolwork and trying to repress memories of the abuse she suffered as a five-year-old at the hands of her Papi’s former wife, Mrs. Maria. Now Papi has remarried again, to a woman named Francheska (“Mrs. Franchy”), and Isla must unwillingly go to live with them for six months. Inspired by a scary movie she wasn’t supposed to have seen (as well as the theory that all “fiction stems from truth”), Isla enlists the help of her best friend, Evelissé, and a bully-turned-friend, Melissa, to prove that Mrs. Franchy is an actual witch. But the more she gets to know Mrs. Franchy, the more confused about “good” and “evil” Isla becomes. The author does a phenomenal job tackling the painful subject of child abuse and its consequences. A pre-story section discusses the sensitive topics covered (such as abuse, food restriction, the pandemic, and even Santa Claus), as well as suggestions for adults on how to speak to their children about these subjects. Isla’s imagination bursts off the pages, whether she’s envisioning her mother as an angry fire-breathing dragon or suspecting that Papi’s and Mrs. Franchy’s dog, John, might actually be a kid trapped in a dog’s body. Ortega masterfully conveys the ways kids think (“Words buzz inside my head. All the words. But then it’s like a traffic jam. A word traffic jam in my head”) and feel, making it a joy to follow Isla on her journey toward overcoming trauma and expressing herself. The bold full-color illustrations by Vesle are a delightful addition.
A compassionate, witty, affirmation that it’s OK to speak up.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9798986982663
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Have a Cup of Johanny
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid.
Black sixth-grader Jake Liston can only play one song on the piano. He can’t read music very well, and he can’t improvise. So how did Jake get accepted to the Music and Art Academy? He faked it.
Alongside an eclectic group of academy classmates, and with advice from his best friend, Jake tries to fit in at a school where things like garbage sculpting and writing art reviews of bird poop splatter are the norm. All is well until Jake discovers that the end-of-the-semester talent show is only two weeks away, and Jake is short one very important thing…talent. Or is he? It’s up to Jake to either find the talent that lies within or embarrass himself in front of the entire school. Light and humorous, with Knight’s illustrations adding to the fun, Jake’s story will likely appeal to many middle-grade readers, especially those who might otherwise be reluctant to pick up a book. While the artsy antics may be over-the-top at times, this is a story about something that most preteens can relate to: the struggle to find your authentic self. And in a world filled with books about wanting to fit in with the athletically gifted supercliques, this novel unabashedly celebrates the artsy crowd in all of its quirky, creative glory.
A fast and funny alternative to the Wimpy Kid. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-553-52351-5
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
