Embedding their appealing protagonist in a fully realized Caribbean setting, Callender has readers rooting for Caroline the...
Born during a storm, Caroline Murphy, a 12-year-old black girl, is convinced that she has been cursed with bad luck.
The old ladies around her way say this is the fate of any child born during a hurricane. Recent events in her life seem to confirm this. Feeling unwanted by everyone, especially since the abrupt departure of her mom, Caroline leads a difficult life. She is bullied by those at her school in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, including her teacher, for her skin, which is darker than theirs. She is also followed around by a spirit—the woman in black—that she is sure only she can see. The arrival of a new student from Barbados changes Caroline’s life significantly. Also bullied, the exuberantly dreadlocked Kalinda becomes Caroline’s first and only friend, and soon Caroline’s feelings blossom into something more than platonic. This spells problems for Caroline, since feelings like these are considered sinful in Catholic school. Caroline now must deal with growing up without a mother and her feelings for Kalinda, all while trying to figure out why the woman in black will not leave her alone. Her journey to the answers to her most burning questions finds her discovering much about herself and those around her. Writing in Caroline’s present-tense voice, Callender draws readers in and makes them identify with Caroline’s angst and sorrow and joy and pain.
Embedding their appealing protagonist in a fully realized Caribbean setting, Callender has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-12930-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A deliciously offbeat magical adventure.
Eelgrass Bog may be cursed, but Kess has her hopes pinned on what she’ll find there.
Twelve-year-old Kess and her older brother, Oliver, have lived alone in the Unnatural History Museum ever since Mam and Da left for Antarctica on a research trip ever so long ago. Well, there’s also Shrunken Jim, a pickled, disembodied head Kess carries around in a jar, a staunch if unusual friend. Kess hopes that new exhibits will revitalize the museum, and when newcomer Lilou visits, Kess finds a partner in exploration—and what they learn in Eelgrass Bog upends everything Kess thought she knew. Averling’s worldbuilding is deft and beguiling, from Kess’ unfamiliarity with modern tech that tells readers something’s very amiss to the delightful weirdness of the museum and its environs. Averling’s use of the present tense effectively unmoors readers (as well as Kess) from time, and Kess’ voice is a delight. “Oh, vermin,” she curses, and she dismisses Oliver as “a prune-hearted cockroach.” Shining brightest is her endearing relationship with Shrunken Jim—an excellent supporting character for all that he’s brined. Most human characters are cued white; Lilou has two dads, and Kess and Lilou find that they might “like-like” each other, though active romance is left for Kess’ future.
A deliciously offbeat magical adventure. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593624906
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A potent mixture of magic and monsters that never materializes.
After 12-year-old Fort’s father is abducted during an alien attack on Washington, D.C., he jumps at the chance to attend a school of magic that is preparing to go to war with the invaders.
Fort is anxious to start his new school, but he finds Oppenheimer School to be nothing like Hogwarts. Instead of a castle with turrets and magical creatures roaming the forest, Fort’s new school is on a military base complete with armed soldiers and high-tech security. Although the school teaches both Healing magic and Destruction magic, Fort is determined to master the latter in order to avenge his father. When he arrives, Fort is given an ultimatum: learn three spells in three days or be sent home. While he quickly makes enemies with the aggressive Destruction students, he also makes important friends. Jia Liang is a master of Healing magic. Rachel, a wielder of Destruction magic, helps Fort fight his battles. And Cyrus, newly transferred from London, uses his clairvoyance to keep everyone out of trouble. While this new take on a magical academy is imaginative, the narrative wanders, spending too much time on bickering, dead ends, and flashbacks. Fort’s indecision is his greatest stumbling block, making him a lackluster leader. An open ending suggests more to come. The book adheres to the white default; Jia is a Chinese immigrant, and Rachel is African-American.
A potent mixture of magic and monsters that never materializes. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4814-8577-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
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