An easy, escapist fantasy tied up with a happy ending.
A feel-good fairy tale about a full-figured woman pursuing her dreams.
Noll (Animal Jam: Official Insider’s Guide, 2014, etc.) updates the story of “Snow White” in this novel. As the story opens, Neve Bianca, in her early 20s, helps her loving father in her family’s construction business. She never attended college and had a difficult time in high school because other teens tormented her about her weight. She has aspirations to go to library school someday but doesn’t do anything to fulfill them. When her father dies, she discovers that her stepmother, Vania, is involved with the Russian mob. Vania orders Neve killed, but when the hit man can’t bear to do it, Neve runs, eventually ending up at a traveling music festival. There, she meets Lindsey, a young performer with dwarfism whose first love is Shakespeare. She helps Neve regain some self-confidence; in one of their first interactions, for example, Lindsey asks, “Why would you ever believe what a bunch of bullies have to say about you? They are totally screwed up in the head.” Lindsey then helps get Neve a job at a candy-apple stand. At a party, Neve’s dancing attracts the attention of the director of a burlesque act, which does more to bring Neve out of her shell. When her dancing is publicized, though, her stepmother recognizes her, which puts everything at terrible risk. Noll conscientiously creates a heroine with an innocent heart and a painful past. She gives Neve a few quirks, such as a habit of reciting facts when she’s nervous, but, much like a princess in a fairy tale, she has no serious flaws. When she runs away from her old life and starts anew, nearly everyone she meets is willing to help her. She even finds love with a respectful, attractive rock star who has a history of being bullied himself. Despite the plot’s requisite obstacles, there’s little doubt that everything will work out in the end. Noll transports a classic fairy tale into the modern world with a spirit of optimism, highlighting Neve’s essential goodness. There’s plenty of material here for readers who’ve never felt like princesses, from Neve’s body-image struggles to Lindsey’s deep suspicion of romantic attention, and Noll resolves it all neatly.
An easy, escapist fantasy tied up with a happy ending.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1941015193
Page Count: 177
Publisher: Red Sky Presents
Review Posted Online: Oct. 24, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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