This quick futuristic tale encourages autistic and neurotypical readers alike to venture beyond their comfort zones, albeit...
Interested in idioms and fashion, 11-year-old Astatine is an outsider on literal, scientific, inescapable Elemental Island—she has Social Syndrome in a place where implied, exaggerated autism is the norm.
When foreigner Danny lands in a forbidden plane, Astatine dreams of adventures beyond completing her adulthood thesis. Murky worldbuilding and shallow character development weaken this well-intentioned tale's effect. The portrayal of social people as abnormal may increase understanding of neurodiversity on both sides, but if readers aren't familiar with the historical treatment of autistic people, vague references to "de-socialisation" will have little emotional impact. Conflating autistic traits with entirely scientific aptitudes risks perpetuating stereotypes, especially alongside reductive contrasts between autism and Social Syndrome. Social Syndrome, for instance, is "hugs and wanting to be with people. Talking about life. Being curious about everything and obsessed about nothing." Hoopmann allows little spectrum, autistic or otherwise, outside Astatine's circle; borderline mechanical characters aren't much more than recitations of their obsessions, lacking opportunities to share thoughts or feelings that might add gradations to black-and-white thinking. The desire of some islanders to fly to the mainland and mingle with its social population verges on introducing the spectrum as well as its acceptance, but that may not be easily apparent after so many absolutes.
This quick futuristic tale encourages autistic and neurotypical readers alike to venture beyond their comfort zones, albeit clumsily. (Science fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-84905-658-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
After Castro’s takeover, nine-year-old Julian and his older brothers are sent away by their fearful parents via “Operation Pedro Pan” to a camp in Miami for Cuban-exile children. Here he discovers that a ruthless bully has essentially been put in charge. Julian is quicker-witted than his brothers or anyone else ever imagined, though, and with his inherent smarts, developing maturity and the help of child and adult friends, he learns to navigate the dynamics of the camp and surroundings and grows from the former baby of the family to independence and self-confidence. A daring rescue mission at the end of the novel will have readers rooting for Julian even as it opens his family’s eyes to his courage and resourcefulness. This autobiographical novel is a well-meaning, fast-paced and often exciting read, though at times the writing feels choppy. It will introduce readers to a not-so-distant period whose echoes are still felt today and inspire admiration for young people who had to be brave despite frightening and lonely odds. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-168-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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