Preteen and middle school readers will respond to the dogged tenacity with which Kate pursues her moviemaking dreams.
An aspiring director, 12-year-old Kate’s first feature-length film involves zombies, chickens and mayhem.
Although a recent family move to accommodate her mother’s career change from corporate worker to chicken farmer has left Kate feeling adrift from her friends, it has resulted in a cinematic opportunity. Kate translates her skepticism about her mother’s chickens into her film. However, a rift with her lead actress and longtime BFF, Alyssa, jeopardizes Kate’s production. When Alyssa invites reigning popular girl Lydia to participate in Kate’s movie, things quickly go wrong. Soon, Kate’s social status at school plunges, and she endures relentless teasing. After a confrontation with Alyssa culminates in an epic argument, Kate schemes for revenge. Yet when Kate’s retaliation is successful, remorse compels her to reconsider her actions. Mata’s tale subtly addresses the issue of changing friendships and the concept of forgiveness. Kate’s fledgling friendships with Doris and Margaret, who are on the social outskirts, offer Kate a respite from her school woes and transform her perspective. Throughout the story, Mata conveys Kate’s exuberant enthusiasm for the filmmaking process, including Kate’s relish in the special effects tactics used in zombie films and other movies. The surprise twist that provides a timely solution to Kate’s dilemmas is suitably theatrical for the movie enthusiast.
Preteen and middle school readers will respond to the dogged tenacity with which Kate pursues her moviemaking dreams. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 20, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4231-9459-0
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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