In a Wemberly Worried (2000) for middle-grade readers, Clarice Bean catalogs concerns both immediate and cosmic (“Worry No. 3. Change.”), while chronic lack of sleep, increasingly sharp arguments between her high-strung parents and the departure of best friend Betty Moody combine to drive her spiraling down into scowling gloom. Brusquely rejecting several overtures from classmates, she becomes a sour loner, compulsively scouring a cherished Guide For Spies by her literary heroine Ruby Redfort for advice while watching pretty new student Clem Hansson hook up (or so she thinks) with class sociopath Justin Broach. The domestic chaos that came off as funny in previous episodes just seems disturbing here. And though Child tries to lighten the load on her depressed protagonist by having her discover just how many friends she still has when Justin tries to bully her, and also to learn that she was wrong about Clem, her parents’ imminent breakup and other matters, the effort comes too late to lift the dismal overall tone. Clarice Bean has many fans, but this new outing isn’t as finely tuned as the others, and so is unlikely to earn her many new ones. (Fiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3536-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read.
Tyler is the son of generations of Vermont dairy farmers.
Mari is the Mexican-born daughter of undocumented migrant laborers whose mother has vanished in a perilous border crossing. When Tyler’s father is disabled in an accident, the only way the family can afford to keep the farm is by hiring Mari’s family. As Tyler and Mari’s friendship grows, the normal tensions of middle-school boy-girl friendships are complicated by philosophical and political truths. Tyler wonders how he can be a patriot while his family breaks the law. Mari worries about her vanished mother and lives in fear that she will be separated from her American-born sisters if la migra comes. Unashamedly didactic, Alvarez’s novel effectively complicates simple equivalencies between what’s illegal and what’s wrong. Mari’s experience is harrowing, with implied atrocities and immigration raids, but equally full of good people doing the best they can. The two children find hope despite the unhappily realistic conclusions to their troubles, in a story which sees the best in humanity alongside grim realities.
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-85838-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
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