Well-drawn, sympathetic characters and the developing spark between Amy and Craig combine to create a pleasant, satisfying...
In a first-person voice that doesn’t always quite ring true, Amy describes the events of the spring in which she begins a transformation into young adulthood.
Eighth-grader Amy is growing up in a coastal Maine village in 1973; she is shy, unpopular and self-focused. In two gradually developing relationships, she is befriended by a spunky elderly woman, Miss Cogshell, known to many as “Old Coot,” and by Craig, the tough-guy son of an abusive, alcoholic single mother. Craig is struggling in school and at home, so when he takes on care of an injured seal pup, he’s pushed to the brink and turns to Amy for help. Since it’s illegal to take in wildlife, the pair must keep “Pup” hidden while they raise him; Miss Cogshell becomes a willing participant, keeping the seal in her home while also gently reaching out to both unhappy teens. But Miss Cogshell is not well, and eventually the young pair must get their emotional support from each other, something they are at first unable to do. At times, Amy’s voice feels more authorial than authentic (“A rush of freedom outweighed the feel of coarse ground against my palms”), but debut author Strykowski gains competence as she progresses and lets Amy speak more clearly.
Well-drawn, sympathetic characters and the developing spark between Amy and Craig combine to create a pleasant, satisfying read. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-935462-76-7
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Luminis
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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