Nurtured in her grandmother Louisa’s teashop, The Steeping Leaf, Annie and best friends Zoe and Genna have been the “teashop girls” since kindergarten. As eighth grade rolls to a close, Annie laments the new directions Zoe and Genna are moving in, even as Annie’s love for everything connected with the shop remains steadfast, bolstered by her new job as barista. When competition from the coffee chain across the street places the business in financial jeopardy, Annie makes it her mission to save the shop’s unique and historic place in the community. Schaefer’s first tween novel is filled with down-to-earth good values, conflict, budding romantic yearnings and some wonderful side notes on the benefits of tea, its history and global uses. Annie’s distinct relationship with her grandmother parallels her equally special connection with her peers as she faces change and maturity. The drama of keeping The Steeping Leaf open will keep sprouting teens hopeful. Despite a convenient ending, a satisfying story. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4169-6793-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Paula Wiseman/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008
Aimed at readers who have already encountered Anne Frank, this riveting historical novel from Mazer (Missing Pieces, 1995, etc.) is based on a little-known chapter of WWII history. Karin Levi’s story begins in a tiny attic room in Paris in the 1940s, where she is hidden away with her brother, Marc, and their mother, practicing the art of quiet. German soldiers are conducting house-to-house searches, rounding up Jews, and the small family is soon on the run, depending on strangers for scraps of food and shelter. When Maman falls ill, Karin and Marc head for Naples without her; the children board the Henry Gibbons, a ship full of European refugees bound for Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York. Upon their arrival in America, their story turns from one of flight and danger to the happiness and sorrow associated with adjusting to a new language, customs, and schooling, and making new friends. Although it is a shock to Karin, it comes as no surprise to readers when Marc reveals that Maman is dead. Mazer skillfully paints Karin as brave and independent, yet depicts her devotion to Maman throughout, writing unsent letters and never losing sight of her belief that one day they will be reunited. Rather than relying on events and facts of the war and its atrocities to create sympathy, the author paints her central character’s thoughts and feelings, her moments of weakness and her strength, so that the story is stirringly understated. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201468-3
Page Count: 189
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A summer camp story, featuring some minor intrigue, a cabinful of unappealing 12-year-olds, and a predictably happy ending. Still smarting from her parents' divorce, Lydia is not happy about spending two months at Camp Bigelow while her mother goes to school in Florence. Eventually, of course, she changes her mind, but readers may not see why. Under the nose of their oblivious, boy-crazy chaperone Dawn, bunkmate Carla begins a campaign of harassment and petty theft against shy Karen, a born victim. Lydia defends Karen at first, then turns a cold shoulder; meanwhile she struggles under a load of divorce-related guilt and writes to her father. He hasn't been in touch for months, and turns out to be as cold and self-centered as her mother and older sister have told her. Feuer (Paper Doll, 1990, etc.) introduces several characters and nascent subplots, then leaves them undeveloped. Lydia herself, though refreshingly forthright in conversation, doesn't come across as very likeable, and her eventual reconciliation with Karen (whom she not only drops, but also steals from) seems quick and easy. Standard fare with a cast of familiar types and a short menu of personal problems, worked out with the help of wise adult advice. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 28, 1995
ISBN: 0-374-31020-3
Page Count: 185
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1995
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
