The mysteries of the universe, the complexities of life, and a protagonist readers will fall in love with.
Frank loves number patterns, ciphers, and soccer, but his relationship with his younger brother, Max, doesn’t fit into any logical category.
Frank is 10, and his fascination with codes and numerical sequences is challenged by the unpredictability of Max’s autism. Frank is counting down the days until Max can start his new school, but his focus on the difficulties of life with his brother takes a back seat when true tragedy strikes the family and Frank begins a countdown of another kind. Leaving childhood innocence far too soon, Frank is supported by his two best friends, his loving family, an empathetic neighbor, and a teacher who understands the temptation to hide what is hurtful from the outside world. Balen’s debut novel draws from her own experiences in a school for children with special challenges, and she balances the struggles of those with autism and those who love them in a book with an achingly huggable main character. The story, narrated by Frank, rings true as the author resists any temptation to make Frank more praiseworthy or more adult than he would be. The inclusion of the golden ratio, Morse code, occasional free verse poetry, and thoughtful changes in typeset add to an already admirable book. The tale is set in contemporary England; the main characters are presumed white; Frank’s friend Ahmed’s family is from Bangladesh.
The mysteries of the universe, the complexities of life, and a protagonist readers will fall in love with. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4289-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK TO SCREEN
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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