In 1924, Annie and her mother, an elegant but fraudulent clairvoyant, move among upstate New York towns, profiting tidily by telling seekers what they want to hear. Annie assists by eavesdropping in town and reporting crucial details about clients to Mama. Newly ensconced in Peach Hill, Mama has Annie assume life as an “idiot,” with roving eye and drooling mouth, the better to avoid detection. Clever Annie chafes under this odious burden, and when truant officer Mrs. Newman deposits her in first grade, she orchestrates a “cure” for herself, one-upping the furious Mama. Jocelyn seamlessly weds Annie’s lively narration with plenty of well-constructed dialogue, as Annie struggles between her practiced role as shill and newly beckoning experiences: tenth grade, friendships and magnetic classmate Sammy. Even secondary characters emerge whole, with housegirl Peg mothering Annie far more lovingly than Mama, suspicious Mrs. Newman surreptitiously proffering aid and ostensibly wealthy Mr. Poole meeting his match in lovely, scheming “Madame Caterina.” The strife of Helen, abused daughter of a more dangerous charlatan, contrasts soberingly with Annie’s troubles. Colorful and engrossing. (Fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: March 13, 2007
ISBN: 0-375-83701-9
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2007
From England’s Children’s Laureate, a searing WWI-era tale of a close extended family repeatedly struck by adversity and injustice. On vigil in the trenches, 17-year-old Thomas Peaceful looks back at a childhood marked by guilt over his father’s death, anger at the shabby treatment his strong-minded mother receives from the local squire and others—and deep devotion to her, to his brain-damaged brother Big Joe, and especially to his other older brother Charlie, whom he has followed into the army by lying about his age. Weaving telling incidents together, Morpurgo surrounds the Peacefuls with mean-spirited people at home, and devastating wartime experiences on the front, ultimately setting readers up for a final travesty following Charlie’s refusal of an order to abandon his badly wounded brother. Themes and small-town class issues here may find some resonance on this side of the pond, but the particular cultural and historical context will distance the story from American readers—particularly as the pace is deliberate, and the author’s hints about where it’s all heading are too rare and subtle to create much suspense. (Fiction. 11-13, adult)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-439-63648-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004
Technically owned by the Holcomb family’s Aunt Sophia, the illegitimate “high yellow” Sis Goose (named for a Brer Rabbit–type story) has lived her entire life as an adopted and favorite member of the wealthy Texas family. Afraid of a slave uprising and the loss of their work force, the Holcombs and neighboring landowners keep news of the Emancipation Proclamation a secret, even from Sis Goose. When the Union Army arrives at the end of the Civil War to occupy the Holcomb plantation and announce the end of slavery, the betrayal of Sis Goose and her own secret (that she is carrying her “brother’s” baby) spark tragedy. While Rinaldi raises interesting questions about the nature of bondage and freedom, her story glosses over the origins of Juneteenth and subsequent celebrations, focusing instead on the Holcombs’ highly implausible situations. The cover is even misleading, not aptly depicting a light-skinned Sis Goose. Stick to the McKissacks’ nonfiction Days of Jubilee (2003) and wait for a more accurate novel on the subject. (Historical fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: May 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-15-205947-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
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