An inspiring children’s book about reaching for one’s dreams.
First-time author McDonald, a three-time cancer survivor, crafts an uplifting children’s story that aims to give hope and inspiration to young people dealing with cancer.
A grandmother tells her life story to her grandchildren in this optimistic book about finding one’s purpose while fighting a dangerous illness. The story is simple and easy to understand, and there’s a quiet artfulness to Nana’s voice. At one point, she tells how she found out that she had cancer for the first time, when she was 3 years old: “[The doctor] felt my tummy and said, ‘You have a Wilms tumor and need to have an operation....But this was a long time ago, and no one ever said the word ‘cancer’ or talked about it. I was just told I had a tumor and its name was Wilms.” But although she receives treatment and spends significant time in the hospital, it never deters her from setting out to do what she wants to do—dance. Nana also finds strength and comfort in religion, which plays a big role in her recovery. The cancer returns when Nana is a young woman, but she has already achieved her goal of a dancing career and has traveled in Europe and started a family; once again, her faith and perseverance keep her spirits up. Now that she’s an old woman, Nana says, the cancer has returned for a third time, but she wants to make sure that her grandchildren know that no matter what obstacles life sets in front of them, they should never let it get them down. McDonald’s prose doesn’t shy away from the reality and danger of cancer, but it isn’t glum. This inspiring story and the bright, happy illustrations are likely to appeal to even very young children.
An inspiring children’s book about reaching for one’s dreams.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-1449066161
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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