Unconvincing.
An English preteen’s impulsive wish that he’d never been born is granted.
For Maxwell, 12, home is anything but tranquil: His parents fight constantly; his nerdy sister, Bex, 15, ignores him. His beloved dog, Monster, provokes complaints from neighbors. Maxwell relieves stress by disparaging his (only) school friend, Charlie Kapoor. (While most characters default to white, Charlie’s name and home cuisine imply South Asian ancestry.) Maxwell’s prizewinning portrait of an elderly, forgetful neighbor, Reg, earned Maxwell prestige, benefiting his school financially. During an announcement regarding the school’s centennial celebration, with the inclusion of the filming of a popular TV show segment that’s meant to be an exciting surprise, Maxwell deliberately gives the secret away. After bullying and injuring Charlie in PE, Maxwell’s banned from the celebration but disrupts the event with catastrophic results. He flees to Reg, vents his misery, and, via a mysterious artifact, erases himself from his life. He finds himself in a Maxwell-free world where his parents have divorced, his dad is miserable, and Bex shoplifts. Worse, Monster doesn’t even exist. The premise closely tracks Frank Capra’s 1946 film, It’s a Wonderful Life. Like George Bailey, Maxwell’s shown the difference his past good deeds made to others through learning their fates in a world where he’s never existed. But slapdash execution, inconsistent plotting, and Maxwell himself hinder reader buy-in. His prior good deeds mainly reflect being in the right place at the right time; the Maxwell readers will remember is a selfish, manipulative bully.
Unconvincing. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-58956-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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
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