by Kelly Barnhill ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2011
An enticing read that is certain to keep both the hero and audience guessing at every carefully plotted reveal. (Fantasy....
A truly splendid amalgamation of mystery, magic and creeping horror will spellbind the middle-grade set.
Jack has lived much of his life feeling invisible, beneath the notice of bullies, friends or even his family. Yet when his parents divorce and he’s sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Hazelwood, Iowa, Jack is shocked to discover that everyone in the town notices him. What’s more, some of them seem to want to kill him. As he befriends some of the local kids, Jack reluctantly looks into the town’s past and unravels the mystery behind why children have been disappearing there for decades and what his connection may be. This children's debut beautifully evokes the feeling of otherness kids come to feel around their peers and at the same time creates an entirely original mythology. The mystery deepens with each chapter, revealing exactly the right amount with each step. Answers are doled out so meticulously that readers will be continually intrigued rather than frustrated. The result is the ultimate page-turner.
An enticing read that is certain to keep both the hero and audience guessing at every carefully plotted reveal. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-316-05670-0
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2011
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by Liz Kessler ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 11, 2011
Though the logistics of Jenni’s time travel are a bit convoluted and the characters often feel disappointingly flat, preteen...
Time travel to a disturbing near future forces a preteen to cope for the first time without the help of her best friend.
Twelve-year-old Jenni Green and her best friend Autumn are inseparable. Along with their families, they even spend their summer vacations together every year at Riverside Village. There’s so much to do there, from hot air balloon rides to adventure parks. Though Jenni naturally prefers museums to rock climbing, Autumn is always roping her into one crazy activity or another. This summer doesn’t seem any different, until a ride in an old elevator lands Jenni in the middle of a strange and unsettling time-travel adventure all on her own. For the first time in her friendship with Autumn, Jenni must take the reins and figure out how to change the past in order to protect the ones she loves in the future. Jenni's first-person narration gives readers a ringside seat to her disorientation. Will she be able to save her friendship with Autumn and spare both of their families the heartache of a looming tragedy? Only time will tell.
Though the logistics of Jenni’s time travel are a bit convoluted and the characters often feel disappointingly flat, preteen readers will likely be swept up in the suspense of Jenni’s journeys back and forth in time. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5595-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 23, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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by Liz Kessler ; illustrated by Joanie Stone
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by Liz Kessler
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by Liz Kessler ; illustrated by Erin Farley
by Ann Haywood Leal ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2010
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
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