A well-written, compelling trip to a past not often portrayed in children's literature.
The Black Panthers seem to have the answers for Maxie and her friends, so when a traitor to the group is suspected, she is determined to find who is leaking information to the Chicago police.
Maxie and her brother Raheem are deeply involved with the Black Panther Party. The shooting of a close friend and ongoing conflicts with the Chicago police make the radical group seem like the only protection they can count on. Problems at home—their mother’s unemployment, drinking and various boyfriends—make the Panther office a refuge for Maxie, and she presses to become a real member: armed, trained and patrolling the streets like her brother. She is deemed too young, so when Maxie hears there may be a traitor in the Panthers, she decides to discover who it is and prove she is ready to take a real place in the organization. The discovery changes everything and forces Maxie to face almost unbearable truths. In this companion to award-winning A Rock and the River (2009), Magoon explores the role the Black Panthers played in urban communities during the tumultuous times of the late ’60s. Maxie is a believable and feisty character. Her interactions with her brother and his efforts to be the parent their mother seems incapable of being both ring true, as does her relationship with Sam, still grieving the death of his brother. Historical moments such as the riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention strengthen the sense of time and place, but this is primarily an authentic story of a young person attempting to grasp where she will stand in the struggle.
A well-written, compelling trip to a past not often portrayed in children's literature. (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2230-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
The success of Mah’s memoirs (Falling Leaves, 1997, for adults and Chinese Cinderella, 1999, for kids) led to her well-received novel Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society (2005) and historical overview China: Land of Dragons and Emperors (2008). Here, she tries to combine them all, blithely and unwisely stepping beyond her literary capabilities. Readers initially meet CC (the character from the previous novel) on what seems to be a mission in World War II China. Chased, she falls and enters a coma. A doctor hypnotizes her, and readers shift to the Song dynasty and CC’s previous life in a star-crossed romance, observing the scene in the famous painting Along the River at the Qing Ming Festival. Both setting and emotional tension rely heavily on cliché and exclamation points. The author abuses dialogue to cram in historical details (a visitor exclaiming “Good tea!” is treated to an encyclopedic definiton of white tea). It is unclear what story she is trying to tell: the romance? the story of the painting? the bookend of CC’s coma, which will be inexplicable to readers unfamiliar with the previous novel? As none succeed, the question may go unanswered. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-385-73895-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
As her single mother's mental state degenerates, a resilient little girl desperately tries to hold life together. Since her father vanished seven years ago in 1966, 11-year-old Esther has watched over her younger sister Ruth and pretended all's normal in their chaotic home. Frequently "out of sorts" and "off-kilter," their mother Valley angers "real fast, without much warning," forgets to take her pills, vanishes for days, manically redecorates and accidentally leaves Ruth overnight in a store. In her "finders-keepers" world, the resourceful Esther makes a game of scrounging food and clothing from Dumpsters, convinced all will stabilize if she can just find her father. Esther's matter-of-fact, grown-up voice chronicles her attempts to keep life going, fool nosey outsiders and protect her pathetic mother, but it's obvious the walls are literally crumbling around her and she's only a kid herself. Mature beyond her years, able to make the best of a bad situation and blessed with impressive survivor skills, Esther proves an admirable heroine in this poignant story. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8882-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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