Funny and frothy.
A zany British trifle about middle school popularity.
“I set Josie Graham on fire,” opens 12-year-old Anna. But she’s not a pyromaniac, really she’s not! It’s just that Josie’s “hairspray-laden locks” were near the Bunsen burner when Anna turned it on—without checking the setting, which was on the highest flame. She’s sure the incident will cement her friendlessness. Anna’s actual klutziness (walking into a pillar; rappelling down a cliff only to dangle upside down in a waterfall) and hilarious tendency to hide in closets ring truer than her supposed misery. Her narration—including lists, frantic emails, and rapid-fire note-passing—is daffily dramatic, not painfully sad. Her voice and quandaries sometimes seem artificially forced, giving them an absurdist air. Adding to the farcical vibe is Anna’s father’s sudden engagement to a famous movie star. Anna gets instant fame, access to Prada gowns, and famous connections to use for regaining two real friendships that, as readers will know, were solid all along. Her earnestly theatrical drama is often disarming, as when Anna hurts herself by lifting Dog, her full-grown Labrador, “as though he was Simba on Pride Rock during that ‘Circle of Life’ song.” Despite the London setting, Birchall’s cast is completely white, with nonwhite people showing up only off-page in unfortunate jokes such as Anna’s oft-mentioned plan to “go to Africa and hand out rice.”
Funny and frothy. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: June 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-6362-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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