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
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
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when...
Two sisters make an unauthorized expedition to their former hometown and in the process bring together the two parts of their divided family.
Dooley packs plenty of emotion into this eventful road trip, which takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. Twelve-year-old Ophelia, nicknamed Fella, and her 16-year-old sister, Zoey Grace, aka Zany, are the daughters of a lesbian couple, Shannon and Lacy, who could not legally marry. The two white girls squabble and share memories as they travel from West Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina, where Zany is determined to scatter Mama Lacy’s ashes in accordance with her wishes. The year is 2004, before the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, and the girls have been separated by hostile, antediluvian custodial laws. Fella’s present-tense narration paints pictures not just of the difficulties they face on the trip (a snowstorm, car trouble, and an unlikely thief among them), but also of their lives before Mama Lacy’s illness and of the ways that things have changed since then. Breathless and engaging, Fella’s distinctive voice is convincingly childlike. The conversations she has with her sister, as well as her insights about their relationship, likewise ring true. While the girls face serious issues, amusing details and the caring adults in their lives keep the tone relatively light.
Some readers may feel that the resolution comes a mite too easily, but most will enjoy the journey and be pleased when Fella’s family figures out how to come together in a new way . (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 4, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-16504-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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