The author of a score of popular and perceptive books captures interest from the first page of a story about the reunion of two sisters—Beth, 13, and Molly, ll—separated since their parents' accidental death eight years before. Molly, adopted by her aunt, Karen, and raised in a modest N.Y.C. apartment, tells how she has always envied Beth's luck: adopted by the nurse who cared for her after the accident, she lives an affluent life in San Francisco. When Beth and her mother turn up in New York, no one is at ease. Beth, especially, is edgy: at one moment, a spoiled brat; the next, bright and charming—but never to Karen or Molly, both objects of her animosity; Karen, too, is uncharacteristically nervous. As hours go by, Beth mentions more things she remembers from years ago; when the entire extended family gathers for a meal, an innocent question from older brother Jeff's new friend precipitates an outburst from Beth about the long-ago cause of her distress, which leads to several interrelated revelations, surprising but plausible. The first part of the book may be a little long, but it builds a firm foundation for the dramatic last scene, both in the many deft characterizations and in the curiosity aroused by Beth's hints about her memories. The conclusion is especially satisfying because unmasking these secrets leads, believably, to the dispelling of blame and some real reconciliations. Well wrought and entertaining. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 1992
ISBN: 0140369449
Page Count: 120
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1992
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Illegal immigrant sisters learn a lot about themselves when their family faces deportation in this compelling contemporary drama. Immigrants from Bangladesh, Nadira, her older sister Aisha and their parents live in New York City with expired visas. Fourteen-year-old Nadira describes herself as “the slow-wit second-born” who follows Aisha, the family star who’s on track for class valedictorian and a top-rate college. Everything changes when post-9/11 government crack-downs on Muslim immigrants push the family to seek asylum in Canada where they are turned away at the border and their father is arrested by U.S. immigration. The sisters return to New York living in constant fear of detection and trying to pretend everything is normal. As months pass, Aisha falls apart while Nadira uses her head in “a right way” to save her father and her family. Nadira’s need for acceptance by her family neatly parallels the family’s desire for acceptance in their adopted country. A perceptive peek into the lives of foreigners on the fringe. (endnote) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-4169-0351-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Ginee Seo/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2005
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