Readers will root for the protagonist as hard as he roots for his Yankees.
Marty tries to overcome his fears by withdrawing into his love for the Yankees, listening to the games, quoting statistics, and writing memos, never sent, to his hero, Mickey Mantle.
And there is much to fear in 1953 during the months leading up to the imminent execution of accused spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Marty’s professor parents have refused to sign loyalty oaths and are suspected of being Communists planning to overthrow the government. The FBI watches day and night, their mail and trash are searched, and their home is bugged. His friend Amy Lynn is in the same situation. Could they lose their parents like the Rosenberg children? Friends turn away, Marty is thrown off his baseball team, his friend Connor’s father forces them apart, and his mom and Amy Lynn’s dad are suspended and later fired from their positions. The FBI threatens his mom with deportation, claiming she isn’t a citizen. She is able to provide evidence to the contrary and is dismissed from the hearings, but the Rosenbergs can’t be saved. Speaking through Marty’s parents, Ruby demonstrates the escalating terrors endured by people caught up in the destructive McCarthy era, stopping just short of a dispiriting harangue. Marty is thoroughly endearing; he is resourceful, knows his weaknesses, endearingly dislikes studying for his bar mitzvah, and is a kind, caring friend. He narrates his own story, careening among fear, anger, bewilderment, and hope.
Readers will root for the protagonist as hard as he roots for his Yankees. (author’s note, acknowledgements, topics for discussion) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5415-5749-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: Oct. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
Brava!
From award winner Telgemeier (Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage.
Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, "Don't worry, Cal. We’re the cool kids….He's the dork." With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer.
Brava! (Graphic fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-32698-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2012
SEEN & HEARD
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