Pretty, popular Lori, 14, feels that just about all she has in common with her fat, slow, older brother Chuck is their mother, their father having died eight years ago. Even this shared connection seems pretty hollow to Lori, as their mother, an inspirational speaker, is on the road more often than not, leaving Lori, Chuck, and their three younger siblings at home with their grandparents in rural Ohio. The prospect of two weeks on tour with her mother, then, with Chuck in tow, is not her idea of a good time. The progress of this story is entirely predictable: Chuck and Lori each learn more about themselves and their mother; the increasing tension among all three characters comes to a head at the end of the trip; and they have a therapeutic air-clearing in which all psychological wounds are salved and the way is laid for more healthy relationships to begin to grow. While the resolution is never in doubt, the narrative technique that takes the reader there makes it worth the while. The third-person narration alternates between Chuck and Lori, and Haddix (Among the Impostors, p. 660, etc.) deftly creates two entirely distinct voices: Lori, an impatient, self-absorbed teen whose resentment toward her mother is palpable, and Chuck, a boy whose sense of self-worth is so low it is painful to witness. Their mother is occasionally allowed to break in with her own self-justifications, which, while they are psychologically consistent and serve to keep the plot moving, do not ring as true as the kids’ narratives. Don’t read this for the plot; read it for the sensitive explorations of character and emotion in a family under stress. (Fiction. 12-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83299-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Ramona returns (Ramona Forever, 1988, etc.), and she’s as feisty as ever, now nine-going-on-ten (or “zeroteen,” as she calls it). Her older sister Beezus is in high school, baby-sitting, getting her ears pierced, and going to her first dance, and now they have a younger baby sister, Roberta. Cleary picks up on all the details of fourth grade, from comparing hand calluses to the distribution of little plastic combs by the school photographer. This year Ramona is trying to improve her spelling, and Cleary is especially deft at limning the emotional nuances as Ramona fails and succeeds, goes from sad to happy, and from hurt to proud. The grand finale is Ramona’s birthday party in the park, complete with a cake frosted in whipped cream. Despite a brief mention of nose piercing, Cleary’s writing still reflects a secure middle-class family and untroubled school life, untouched by the classroom violence or the broken families of the 1990s. While her book doesn’t match what’s in the newspapers, it’s a timeless, serene alternative for children, especially those with less than happy realities. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16816-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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