by L.P. Simone ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2012
The relatable, refreshingly non-Caucasian protagonist will take readers on an action-packed cultural adventure.
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The world seems to be on the brink of destruction, as the Maya people might have predicted, and its fate might just rest on the shoulders of a single teenage boy in Simone’s debut young-adult thriller.
As far as Cory McClintock knows, he’s a normal kid. The only thing distinguishing him is that, when he was a baby, his father adopted him from a Maya woman who had begged him to take care of her son. One day, when Cory arrives home from school, he discovers his dad unconscious and bleeding; Cory is immediately kidnapped at gunpoint by Culebra, a man claiming to be his uncle, who takes him to Guatemala. According to Culebra, Cory is the latest in a line of Maya kings who have the ability to reshape the world in the last days of the Maya calendar, a time of planetary upheaval and rebirth. Culebra plans on sacrificing him on an altar, thus taking Cory’s power for himself. Simone has crafted a taut novel that’s impressive for its razor-edge suspense as well as its verisimilitude. Written in first-person present tense, the prose is incredibly tight, sharp and intelligent. Cory never comes across as anything less than a fully believable young man, despite the bizarre circumstances in which he finds himself. His attempts to escape his uncle’s clutches provide nail-biting suspense. Given the novel’s title, one might expect an exploitation of ancient culture, but Simone’s tale has the utmost respect for Maya civilization as the narrative spins a sensationalist tale out of a modern interpretation. The story ultimately illuminates Maya beliefs, while managing to pay homage to pop culture’s apocalyptic interpretation.
The relatable, refreshingly non-Caucasian protagonist will take readers on an action-packed cultural adventure.Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-1463567330
Page Count: 216
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Christopher Cheng ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2000
Disheartened by environmental destruction, a girl determines to do all she can to reverse the process in Cheng’s optimistic invitation to personal action. The girl plants a tree, walks to school instead of riding, cleans up the yard, writes, sings, marches, and speaks for the world, then imagines, in an affecting final series of illustrations, what would happen “if the children of the world did all that they could.” Woolman bases his ink-and-colored-pencil illustrations on the metaphor of the gradual cleaning of a stained-glass window; his early images are blue and gloomy, but frame by frame, a glistening world emerges. His depiction of the brilliance achieved aids the simple, restrained text enormously, as he adds the layers needed for making the text specific. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-56656-330-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Crocodile/Interlink
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2000
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by Dominique Falda ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1999
PLB 0-7358-1050-8 This tale of sudden riches from Falda (The Angel and the Child, 1995, etc.) examines the true meaning of friendship. When Owl sees Squirrel unearth a treasure chest, he quickly notifies the other forest creatures. Together, Rabbit, Mole, Badger, and Bear try to envision the contents of the chest. Falda whimsically describes the creatures’ dearest desires—from carrots for Rabbit to glasses for Mole. Owl disdainfully discounts these fanciful notions, informing the animals that treasure chests are always full of gold and other riches. He also believes that such riches are certain to alter Squirrel, as wealth has often led to the demise of friendships. Alarmed, the animals rush off to discover Squirrel’s intentions; Squirrel has converted his treasure trove of seeds and nuts into a cake for all of his friends. Falda prevents sentiment from overwhelming the charming forest setting and the cast of imaginative, endearing friends. (Picture book. 4-7)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7358-1049-4
Page Count: 26
Publisher: NorthSouth
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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