A lukewarm read.
A middle schooler takes a stand for victims of cyberbullying.
This latest in the Spyglass Sisterhood series, whose installments each follow a member of a group of friends who use a magical spyglass to see visions of what might be, focuses on Kiara. Kiara has trouble discerning others’ intent and reading body language, and though the book doesn’t explicitly refer to her as neurodivergent, she is often referred to as “different.” Following a suspension from her old school, where she was bullied, Kiara, her father, and her aunt Molly move to Lakeside for a fresh start. There, she befriends Alyssa, Ellie, and Rachel, the other members of the Spyglass Sisterhood. Through the spyglass in the turret at Ellie’s house, the girls see classmate Jim Berger being beaten up on the playground. As they learn that Jim and other students are being bullied online, they take action. The book moves slowly toward a somewhat predictable resolution, and characterization is superficial. Early in the book, Kiara describes Rachel, a White-presenting Latinx girl, as “seriously white” and “the prettiest of us”—“us” being Kiara, who is Black; Alyssa, who is South Asian; and Ellie, who is White. This unfortunate choice of words seems to reinforce the idea that beauty is synonymous with Whiteness.
A lukewarm read. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4611-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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