Atmospheric and ultimately heartwarming but clichéd.
A Southern girl learns a troubling truth about her past.
It’s 1921. For two years white 12-year-old Chestnut Hill, along with her 7-year-old triplet siblings, has been living and traveling through the South in a repurposed circus wagon with their snake-oil–salesman father. Resentful, hardened Chestnut just knows Daddy kidnapped her and the triplets and that Mama is frantic. Chestnut draws and mounts posters for the traveling shows that feature the names of towns the family will be visiting next, thus creating a paper trail she hopes Mama will follow. Along the way, the Hills meet up with Daddy’s old “Negro” friend Abraham, who joins them on their travels. He explains that Daddy’s a much better man than Chestnut ever believed—and, tantalizingly, seems to know exactly why Daddy took off with the children; he’s just not telling. Chestnut narrates, giving her story immediacy; her and other characters’ speech are rife with colorful regionalisms and overloaded with similes that may try readers’ patience. Chestnut’s a well-realized, realistically conflicted character, but readers may tire of her unrelenting belief in her father’s villainy and hold on the kidnapping scenario. More troubling are Abraham’s highly stereotyped speech patterns and a pandering characterization. While racism typical of the time and place are acknowledged, it’s unrealistic that prejudice touches these itinerants comparatively little. Other lapses in logic intrude as well.
Atmospheric and ultimately heartwarming but clichéd. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5107-1031-3
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2016
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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