A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
Delightfully disconcerting.
A tween befriends a mysterious changeling.
Casey Wilson hasn’t had many friends since the fabled sixth grade “Zoom Incident,” when a bully recorded his anxious tics and posted them online. But one day, after a mysterious phone call, a new friend arrives in a burlap bag. From the beginning, it’s clear this child (whose name is Morel) isn’t quite human; he has a claylike body and doesn’t eat or sleep. Casey’s gut sounds the alarm, but since his parents are unfazed, he rolls with the child’s appearance, too. The two kids start to connect over drawing, video games, and anime, but their similarities turn sinister as Morel slowly molds himself into Casey—voice and all. As Casey’s memories start to feel “far away,” his family begins to confuse him with Morel. Worse, they seem to prefer Morel over him. By the time Casey realizes what’s happening, it may be too late to get his life back. Horror veteran Tremblay draws on personal experience as an educator in his chilling middle-grade debut set in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The third-person perspective enhances the suspense; even readers who figure out what’s going on will find it terrifying to observe Casey’s growing realization of what’s happening to his family. Connelly’s occasional full-page black-and-white illustrations add ambience, and some will surely fuel readers’ nightmares. Casey and his family present white. Casey’s diagnoses include transient tic disorder, slow executive functioning, and anxiety.
Delightfully disconcerting. (author’s note) (Horror. 9-12)Pub Date: July 22, 2025
ISBN: 9780063396357
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato.
The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
© 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.
