A fresh coming-of-age tale with an unconventional twist.
Malou always wondered who her parents were and how she came to be the only colored girl at the small-town orphanage.
When a fire destroys the group home and forces her to leave the girls who were like her sisters, Malou follows a clue to Parry Sound, Ontario, where she might find the truth and a new family. Part of the Secrets series, this historical novel by Jocelyn explores racial identity, prejudice, and the meaning of family through 16-year-old Malou’s journal-style entries. Malou’s innocent and optimistic voice adds levity to what could have been a heavy narrative. She encounters prejudice both as an orphan and because of her dark skin. However, most of her context for racial injustice comes from following news from the United States. Set in 1964, the book refers to the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Unfortunately, there are few references to Black Canadian historical events, an oddity given the book’s focus on Malou’s background; it’s Malou's interactions with the racially diverse group of people she meets during her search that are the novel’s real strength. Learning about their varying perspectives is as eye-opening for Malou as discovering her own history.
A fresh coming-of-age tale with an unconventional twist. (Historical fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4598-0668-9
Page Count: 264
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
An evocative glimpse into an unjust and unforgiving system with a gooey love story at its core.
Two incarcerated teens find hope and connection within the pages of a shared journal.
The silver lining of Adriana’s court-ordered seven-month stint in Compass Juvenile Detention Center is the treasured journal where she writes her private thoughts in verse. After misplacing it, she’s furious to find the journal shelved in the library, its pages defaced by someone else’s writing. But this person isn’t just writing commentary—he’s writing to her. Jon has spent nearly four years developing a “fierce reputation” at Compass. The two create a clever method of exchanging the journal, shedding their tough exteriors and revealing their innermost selves to one another. Security inside the gender-divided facility renders in-person contact between Adriana and Jon impossible, but with help from their friends, they hatch a risky plan to lay everything on the line. The intensity of their infatuation escalates quickly, setting the pace for the story’s action-packed second half, which includes a secret code, a hidden plan, and betrayal. Adriana has Moroccan, Greek, and Spanish ancestry, and Jon is Black; teens who are diverse in ethnicity, race, and ability live at Compass. Told in Jon’s and Adriana’s alternating perspectives, the story paints a vivid picture of a harsh reality but misses the opportunity to address class, race, and the impact of racism in the juvenile detention system in meaningful ways.
An evocative glimpse into an unjust and unforgiving system with a gooey love story at its core. (authors’ note) (Fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780062875761
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
Mysteriously spooky and ultimately heartwarming.
A girl disguises herself as a boy to escape gender roles and takes down a magical cult in this fantasy Western.
Faolan Kelly lives in an alternate universe very similar to our own, but one where the Old West is pervaded with magic and horror. She’s feared and hated by others because of superstitions about her red hair and gray eyes. When her grandfather dies, she’s set to inherit his land—until the mayor concocts a scheme to steal it out from under her, beginning by sending her to live at the compound of the worshippers of the Shining God. But there’s something not right about the community, aside from its charismatic cult leader—and something there is killing people. Through her adventures, Faolan meets the attractive and intelligent Tallis, who’s a Rover. The Rovers display an amalgamation of characteristics commonly used to cue Native American and Romani peoples, but they’re depicted thoughtfully and without too much exoticism. They embrace far more progressive values than Faolan’s townsfolk do. Soon a heart-fluttering romance develops alongside the spooky magic and gunslinging as Faolan learns to love and trust others. The well-crafted plot is exciting, and Faolan is a clever, tough, and sensitive protagonist. Most of the secondary characters are essentially one-note, but they’re likable, nonetheless.
Mysteriously spooky and ultimately heartwarming. (Fantasy. 13-17)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781984815620
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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