A hint of magic and a dusting of faith turn this middle-grade novel into a true confection.
In Rowell’s debut, Abby and her grandmother (affectionately called “G-ma”) explore what it means to rely on yourself. In true Harry Potter style, Abby uses a book that allows her to follow a group of children into a magical realm, where they all learn about their own unique personalities. “Sparkle Rooms” allow them to explore the many possibilities inherent in their natures, and they eventually settle on characteristics with which they feel at peace. (For example, a child named Alex is a “thinker,” while Perk is more physical and athletic.) When Abby sees the kids again five years later, after they’ve become jaded preteens, they shine less: The world has taught them not to rely on their inner joy or their “God-Glow.” Abby faces her own sparkle-challenge when a cruel neighbor mocks her aspiration to become a Spanish dancer. It takes G-ma’s help, and another journey into the magical realm of Sparkle Rooms, for Abby to understand how to “shine in a world that prefers predictability over possibility.” The book’s style can be over-the-top and saccharine at times (“Everyone is so much happier when they remember to sparkle”). However, its lesson applies not just to children, but to everyone: We all decide whether we want to listen to ourselves or to those around us. Other touching, meaningful insights dot the pages, but the book’s real strength lies in its subtle psychological lessons about the ego. Throughout, it couches its ideas in relatable terms: “If I stop being me to make everyone else happy, I won’t even know who I am anymore.” This teaching, in particular, is applicable to all ages. Parents can read along with their kids, and try to remember what it felt like to shine from within.
An overly sweet but often thoughtful kids’ book.
Pub Date: May 14, 2014
ISBN: 978-1492866022
Page Count: 166
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The charming story of a brave child’s decision to make her life better.
An exuberant, cotton-candy pink introduction to hearing loss and cochlear implants for ages 5 and up.
Little Almigal’s hearing loss doesn’t get much better with hearing aids. While Ali’s friend Penelope, whose hearing aids work for her, uses both her voice and signs to communicate, Almigal only knows a word or two of sign language, so she’s frustrated at missing out on the sounds in her world. She declares that she needs “to hear every single sound in the whole entire universe!”—especially her parents saying “We love you Almigal” when she’s in bed and not wearing her hearing aids. Her doctor suggests cochlear implants to improve her hearing, and Almigal is all for it. The book gently covers Almigal’s trip to the hospital for the operation and the importance of handling the implants carefully, as displayed in episodes where Almigal fails to treat the implants properly, thus learning how important that care can be. The implants successfully help Almigal hear all the things she’d been missing. Although the story skips the controversy surrounding cochlear implants and their place in the deaf community, the cheerful inclusiveness will be a welcome introduction for children. Kupfer—whose own daughter, Ali, was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at 10 months of age—celebrates uniqueness, while the delightful, full-page illustrations show the lively heroine and her friends and family enjoying their differences. Almigal considers herself to be the luckiest girl in the world. “Do you want to know why?” she asks. “Because I have so many friends and each one is different.”
The charming story of a brave child’s decision to make her life better.Pub Date: April 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0983829409
Page Count: 32
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sci-fi novel that soars along with a teenage heroine whose imperfections help make her believable and endearing.
A 17-year-old pilot with a history of crashing her craft holds a planet’s fate in her hands when a human settlement on Mars runs low on food.
Flight-obsessed Jessamyn Jaarda faces the biggest mission of her life in the fourth YA sci-fi novel from Swanson (Unfurl, 2012, etc.). Fired from pilot training for crashing one craft and praised for doing the same to another, Jess inspires unpredictable reactions in people. Maybe that’s because Jess lives, as she flies, by pure instinct, and no one knows whether that trait will enable her to save her planet when, because of potential starvation for a human settlement on Mars, she must fly to Earth on a food raid. Along with her brother, however, the red-haired teenager has the courage to attempt the mission and stick with it when it goes terribly wrong. Swanson paces this story beautifully, weaving exposition tightly into the plot as disaster interrupts everyday routines. Despite the strangeness of the Martian environment, the novel quickly establishes the humanity of Jess and other characters, as when Jess tries and fails to help her brother resist a bout of claustrophobia or when she first locks eyes with her planet’s only dog and feels something sweep through her: “A something that reminded her of taking her craft toward breaking day or of watching Phobos as the swift moon zipped across the night sky. The dog was...wondrous.” At first, Jess sees everything through the lens of her obsession with flight, but she becomes far too multifaceted, distractible and passionate to be mistaken for an archetype. Watching her grow and struggle to survive makes this book hard to put down.
A sci-fi novel that soars along with a teenage heroine whose imperfections help make her believable and endearing.Pub Date: July 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0983562160
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Williams Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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