This ambitious novel plods at times and pirouettes at others, like the angst-y readers who are the most likely to enjoy it.
Troubled teen relationships weave around each other in this British import.
Claudette lives in a dying seaside town, dotted with boarded-up shops and once-grand houses turned to dilapidated squats. The white girl has just been released from inpatient psychiatric care after a bipolar episode at school, and her doctor has told her to come up with “small goals you can easily achieve, and a large goal to work towards.” Her goal is to “find Sarah Banks,” a local girl with a troubled past who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The story meanders, touching on Claudette’s loving but contentious relationship with her father’s girlfriend, an unlikely friendship with the neighborhood crank, and an assortment of boys ranging from wholesome to despicable. Numerous flashbacks show more of Claudette’s history with the missing girl, but these never quite achieve an emotional urgency. Far more compelling is Claudette’s exploration of and recovery from mental illness, set against the bleak landscape of her hometown, which is also when the most beautiful writing shines through. The time spent on less-compelling side characters and plot threads detracts from these moments, making for an uneven reading experience.
This ambitious novel plods at times and pirouettes at others, like the angst-y readers who are the most likely to enjoy it. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4721-1420-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Atom/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A well-meaning, awkward cautionary tale.
Boxed in by societal prejudices, a young Chicano struggles to find his identity.
Split into two separate periods, Chacón’s insightful novel portrays the trials of Victor Reyes, a death metal–loving, artistic teen who’s seemingly ill-fated in life. In the book’s first half, 14-year-old Victor recovers from a shooting—he was dead for a hair over 2 minutes—that leaves him with a fuzzy memory. Almost everyone, including his mom, believes he’s a cholo, a gangbanger destined for trouble. Though Victor tries his best to mend his relationship with his mom, he frequently ends up in incriminating situations. Meanwhile, Victor meets and falls for a feisty part-Mexican, part-Indian girl. The story moves at a meandering pace, which Chacón uses to sketch in disjointed details. Victor’s first-person narration doesn’t stand out in any particular way, but each of the diverse supporting characters features a distinct, if stereotypical, voice to fill in that void. The novel’s second half focuses on 17-year-old Victor, a senior succeeding in school and love. A supportive teacher helps him refine his artistic goals, pushing him to apply for art school. But Victor’s anger and past won’t let him go, and soon he’s knee-deep in the cholo life. Overall, the author employs a well-worn redemption arc, and the often clunky, self-conscious narration doesn’t really help to make it feel fresh: “They looked sort of geeky cool, like journalism students, the kind of kids that YA novels are written about.”
A well-meaning, awkward cautionary tale. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-55885-840-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
A tale so devoid of wonder that no amount of clapping can breathe life into it.
Peter Pan’s son flies off to save Never Never Land from Capt. Hook in this painfully mirthless sequel.
J.M. Barrie—who wrote Peter Pan in 1904—filled his now-classic work with nuanced characters, vivid scenery, and timeless themes, which continue to fascinate generations of filmmakers, artists, and writers. Flying in Never Land requires faith as much as fairy dust, and any author seeking inclusion in Barrie’s canon should believe in the established characters enough to explore their complexities even while introducing new faces. Rosenthal’s effort, in which Peter’s 12-year-old-son, Thomas P. Pandora, assumes his father’s mantle, sacrifices character development in favor of a generic fast-paced adventure narrative laden with dreary dialogue. The result is a spiritless drama that plays fast and loose with facts established in Barrie’s version—Hook is a former “gypsy” (as though Peter Pan weren’t problematic enough), and Never Land ages children!?—rendering beloved characters unrecognizable and new additions woefully flat. Dispatching Peter (who grows up, changes his name, marries, and becomes a California yoga instructor) from the narrative by transforming him into an overprotective grown-up incapable of comprehending his angst-ridden son is as disrespectful a bit of storytelling as it is disingenuous. Appearances by Hook, Tinkerbell, and Tiger Lily merely reinforce this story’s anemic treatment of the original’s magic formula.
A tale so devoid of wonder that no amount of clapping can breathe life into it. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-944856-09-0
Page Count: 151
Publisher: Whitepoint Press
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
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