A suspense story without much suspense, constructed from disparate elements that never quite mesh. Injured physically and emotionally in the small plane crash that killed the rest of his family, Finn, 15, moves in with his Vermont grandmother; mute and angry, he becomes a project for Julia, a younger friend from past summers who has been training one of the farm’s horses for shows. Nearby, a wood lot not only has become home for a family of coyotes and a wolf-dog named Toq, but also a drop for a local ring of drug dealers. While Finn recalls details of the crash piecemeal and works his way out from under a huge load of guilt, he and Julia become close, the coyotes stage raids on several farms, the teenagers help Toq escape a trap and are later repaid in kind, and one of the dealers becomes a desperate, pitiful cocaine addict who meets a horrible end. After literally riding through fire and storm to rescue Julia from the bottom of a well, Finn experiences a breakthrough, and regains his voice. The author creates some tension by continually shifting the point of view among the human and animal characters, though without a unifying climax; Bacon never brings everyone face to face and their subplots trail away unresolved. Bits and pieces of the narrative, especially those involving horses, other animals, and descriptions of the farm, are well-crafted, holding out a promise of a story telling that is never realized. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-82216-2
Page Count: 171
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1998
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
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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