A shocking, disturbing, extraordinary survival story.
In this gripping story, two young girls survive in the Tasmanian bush after Tasmanian tigers adopt them.
When Hannah O’Brien’s 6, her parents take her and her friend Becky on a river picnic, where their boat is caught in a flash flood. Hannah’s parents drown, and the girls are washed ashore and rescued by a female tiger. Sensing the animal will not harm them, Hannah convinces Becky to follow the tiger to her cave, where her mate also accepts them. Viewing the tigers as “gentle dogs,” Hannah quickly becomes “one of them.” Initially horrified, Becky fears she will “become like an animal and stop being human,” but eventually, she forgets language, abandons clothing, hunts at night, eats raw meat, walks on all fours and views the tigers as parents. Four years later, Becky’s father finds the feral girls, who desperately fight to remain with their tiger family. Now 76, narrator Hannah tells her remarkable story, admitting “me language is bad cos I lost it and had to learn it again.” Her plain, direct speech movingly describes their transformation from human to animal, triggering profound questions about what happens when “flesh wins over…heart.”
A shocking, disturbing, extraordinary survival story. (Fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4778-1725-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Skyscape
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2013
Though constrained, the work nevertheless stands apart in a literature that too often finds it hard to look hard truths in...
In this roller-coaster ride of a debut, the author summons the popular legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. to respond to the recent tragic violence befalling unarmed black men and boys.
Seventeen-year-old black high school senior Justyce McAllister, a full-scholarship student at the virtually all-white Braselton Prep, is the focus. After a bloody run-in with the police when they take his good deed for malice, Justyce seeks meaning in a series of letters with his “homie” Dr. King. He writes, “I thought if I made sure to be an upstanding member of society, I’d be exempt from the stuff THOSE black guys deal with, you know?” While he’s ranked fourth in his graduating class and well-positioned for the Ivy League, Justyce is coming to terms with the fact that there’s not as much that separates him from “THOSE black guys” as he’d like to believe. Despite this, Stone seems to position Justyce and his best friend as the decidedly well-mannered black children who are deserving of readers’ sympathies. They are not those gangsters that can be found in Justyce’s neighborhood. There’s nuance to be found for sure, but not enough to upset the dominant narrative. What if they weren’t the successful kids? While the novel intentionally leaves more questions than it attempts to answer, there are layers that still remain between the lines.
Though constrained, the work nevertheless stands apart in a literature that too often finds it hard to look hard truths in the face. Take interest and ask questions. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-101-93949-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 6, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment.
A manifesto for budding feminists.
At the core of this engaging novel are besties Chelsea, who is Irish- and Italian-American and into fashion and beauty, and Jasmine, who is African-American, loves the theater, and pushes back against bias around size (“I don’t need your fake compliments, your pity. I know I’m beautiful. Inside and out”). They and their sidekicks, half-Japanese/half-Lebanese Nadine and Puerto Rican Isaac, grow into first-class activists—simultaneously educating their peers and readers. The year gets off to a rocky start at their progressive, social justice–oriented New York City high school: Along with the usual angst many students experience, Jasmine’s father is terminally ill with cancer, and after things go badly in both their clubs, Jasmine and Chelsea form a women’s rights club which becomes the catalyst for their growth as they explore gender inequality and opportunities for change. This is an inspiring look at two strong-willed teens growing into even stronger young women ready to use their voices and take on the world, imploring budding feminists everywhere to “join the revolution.” The book offers a poetic balance of dialogue among the main characters, their peers, and the adults in their lives. The exquisite pacing, which intersperses everyday teen conflicts with weightier issues, demonstrates how teens long to be heard and taken seriously.
A book that seamlessly brings readers along on a journey of impact and empowerment. (resources for young activists, endnotes) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0008-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2019
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