by Jordan Sonnenblick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 27, 2016
Authentic, funny, dramatic, fantastic.
When Claire's family is turned upside down, her friends—and enemies—become a surprising source of support.
Eighth grade is tough enough for Claire without new problems, including a prominent zit appearing on the first day of school and watching her friends at dance school move into advanced levels while she stays behind. But these problems fade in significance when her novelist father keels over during breakfast one morning. Her father's stroke means even more changes: the house is different, the looks of pity she gets are unfamiliar, and her father has changed. But he's still there—isn't he? With humor, grace, and an ear for middle school nuance, Sonnenblick navigates the tricky waters of eighth grade and manages to convey the heartbreak of a major tragedy alongside the more mundane, but no less horrifying, problems, such as getting your period while wearing white marching-band pants. Her dad's stroke serves as both a main source of anguish and a backdrop against which Claire explores all the relationships in her life, including the ones she has with her brother, her two best dance friends, her best school friend, and others she never knew were friends (including Latina Regina, who calls Claire “Starbuck” because, she says, “all white girls love Starbucks”).
Authentic, funny, dramatic, fantastic. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-86324-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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by Jordan Sonnenblick ; illustrated by Jordan Sonnenblick
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by Kathryn Erskine ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2011
A satisfying story of family, friendship and small-town cooperation in a 21st-century world.
Sent to stay with octogenarian relatives for the summer, 14-year-old Mike ends up coordinating a community drive to raise $40,000 for the adoption of a Romanian orphan. He’ll never be his dad's kind of engineer, but he learns he’s great at human engineering.
Mike’s math learning disability is matched by his widower father's lack of social competence; the Giant Genius can’t even reliably remember his son’s name. Like many of the folks the boy comes to know in Do Over, Penn.—his great-uncle Poppy silent in his chair, the multiply pierced-and-tattooed Gladys from the bank and “a homeless guy” who calls himself Past—Mike feels like a failure. But in spite of his own lack of confidence, he provides the kick start they need to cope with their losses and contribute to the campaign. Using the Internet (especially YouTube), Mike makes use of town talents and his own webpage design skills and entrepreneurial imagination. Math-definition chapter headings (Compatible Numbers, Zero Property, Tessellations) turn out to apply well to human actions in this well-paced, first-person narrative. Erskine described Asperger’s syndrome from the inside in Mockingbird (2010). Here, it’s a likely cause for the rift between father and son touchingly mended at the novel's cinematic conclusion.
A satisfying story of family, friendship and small-town cooperation in a 21st-century world. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: June 9, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25505-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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by Kathryn Erskine & Keith Henry Brown ; illustrated by Keith Henry Brown
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by Kathryn Erskine ; illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
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by Sheela Chari ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 30, 2017
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains.
Myla and Peter step into the path of a gang when they unite forces to find Peter’s runaway brother, Randall.
As they follow the graffiti tags that Randall has been painting in honor of the boys’ deceased father, they uncover a sinister history involving stolen diamonds, disappearances, and deaths. It started long ago when the boys’ grandmother, a diamond-cutter, partnered with the head of the gang. She was rumored to have hidden his diamonds before her suspicious death, leaving clues to their whereabouts. Now everyone is searching, including Randall. The duo’s collaboration is initially an unwilling one fraught with misunderstandings. Even after Peter and Myla bond over being the only people of color in an otherwise white school (Myla is Indian-American; mixed-race Peter is Indian, African-American, and white), Peter can’t believe the gang is after Myla. But Myla possesses a necklace that holds a clue. Alternating first-person chapters allow peeks into how Myla, Peter, and Randall unravel the story and decipher clues. Savvy readers will put the pieces together, too, although false leads and red herrings are cleverly interwoven. The action stumbles at times, but it takes place against the rich backdrops of gritty New York City and history-laden Dobbs Ferry and is made all the more colorful by references to graffiti art and parkour.
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains. (Mystery. 10-12)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2296-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
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