Another sampling of the redoubtable New Zealander's matchless wit and irrepressible imagination, 11 stories that— like those in The Door in the Air (p. 474)—were published abroad years ago (in this case, 1982) but are being introduced here only now. These early yarns are wonderfully varied in tone but a touch uneven in quality; the title entry, a satire of advertising claims, derives its humor from outrageous slapstick, but even here amusing irony creeps in, along with ebullient wordplay. As in Mahy's other collections, each story is fresh, original, and grounded in bracing common sense—like the one about a family that buys a giant's house that's been converted for normal use except for the bath, which has a cavernous drain that is the source of the action (it wasn't possible to adapt the mammoth plumbing). The theme of creativity occurs several times, e.g. in a story about green thumbs that are viewed as an oddity except by others so gifted. The complaints of a curmudgeonly neighbor about an oddly assorted group of singers in a daily bus queue are the occasion for a charming lampoon of local politics. And, in the long final story, the devil tempts a community of people wise enough to use the talents he makes available without being corrupted by them, in an entertaining but thoughtful exploration of the difference between cleverness and wisdom. Ormerod's occasional drawings are not up to her fine recent work, but they include some nice passages. A must for Mahy fans. (Short stories. 10+)
Pub Date: Feb. 10, 1992
ISBN: 014036594X
Page Count: 141
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor’s Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist’s triumphant debut. Sparked by a chance comment of her mother’s, a harried assistant editor for a (surely fictional) children’s imprint, Natalie draws on deep reserves of feeling and writing talent to create a moving story about a troubled schoolgirl and her father. First, it moves her pushy friend Zoe, who decides that it has to be published; then it moves a timorous, second-year English teacher into helping Zoe set up a virtual literary agency; then, submitted pseudonymously, it moves Natalie’s unsuspecting mother into peddling it to her waspish editor-in-chief. Depicting the world of children’s publishing as a delicious mix of idealism and office politics, Clements squires the manuscript past slush pile and contract, the editing process, and initial buzz (“The Cheater grabs hold of your heart and never lets go,” gushes Kirkus). Finally, in a tearful, joyous scene—carefully staged by Zoe, who turns out to be perfect agent material: cunning, loyal, devious, manipulative, utterly shameless—at the publication party, Natalie’s identity is revealed as news cameras roll. Selznick’s gnomic, realistic portraits at once reflect the tale’s droll undertone and deftly capture each character’s distinct personality. Terrific for flourishing school writing projects, this is practical as well as poignant. Indeed, it “grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.” (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82594-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
This profoundly moving story is all the more impressive because of its basis in fact. Although the story is fictionalized, its most harrowing aspects are true: “Today, more than two hundred million children between the ages of five and seventeen are ‘economically active’ in the world.” Iqbal Masih, a real boy, was murdered at age 13. His killers have never been found, but it’s believed that a cartel of ruthless people overseeing the carpet industry, the “Carpet Mafia,” killed him. The carpet business in Pakistan is the backdrop for the story of a young Pakistani girl in indentured servitude to a factory owner, who also “owned” the bonds of 14 children, indentured by their own families for sorely needed money. Fatima’s first-person narrative grips from the beginning and inspires with every increment of pride and resistance the defiant Iqbal instills in his fellow workers. Although he was murdered for his efforts, Iqbal’s life was not in vain; the accounts here of children who were liberated through his and activist adults’ efforts will move readers for years to come. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85445-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2003
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