Sweet but superficial.
Some friendships are easy, and some are more complex.
Sixth graders Gabe and Oliver have been best friends since pre-K, when sporty Oliver inspired bookish Gabe to try the teeter-totter—and encouraged him to keep trying it until he got the hang of things. This became the basis of their philosophy of complementary friendship. It’s a solid relationship but one that Gabe sometimes worries about as their interests diverge. However, they’re still a natural choice to work together when their teacher gives the class a storytelling assignment that can take any format they wish. The duo embarks on creating a comic that chronicles the adventures of Gabiver, a fictional detective and crime fighter inspired by Dav Pilkey’s Dog Man who is a composite of the two boys. Their assignment—and their friendship—is changed with the addition of new student Reuben, a boy who doesn’t talk, and seventh grader Rae, a girl who refuses to atone to a teacher for voicing her opinion and must spend time with the younger class until she crafts an apology. The story does a lot of things well, including its subtle examination of masculinity and friendship, although it suffers slightly under some far-fetched plot points, excessively tidy resolutions, and easy summations of trauma. Readers looking for a breezy read will most likely be pleased, but those hoping to sink their teeth into something meatier may find it too saccharine. All main characters read White.
Sweet but superficial. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-320685-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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