This coming-of-age story about diverse characters coming to grips with their layered identities rings true.
An Indian American boy struggles with his sexuality and mental health while finding a place for himself in seventh grade.
Rahul Kapoor may not be sure about his sexuality, but he is sure of one thing: This year, he wants to make an impression. Inspired by a story his grandfather tells him, Rahul decides that the best way to impress his classmates—and, in the process, to protect himself from bullies—is to pick something and be the best at it. With the help of his fiery best friend, Chelsea, a white girl who wisely, consistently steers Rahul toward being himself and doing what he loves, Rahul tries a number of activities before settling on Mathletes, where he soon becomes a star. But when Japanese American Jenny asks him to the Sadie Hawkins dance, and when his Mathletes career doesn’t go as planned, Rahul spirals into an anxious depression with symptoms of OCD that force him to confront and eventually accept exactly who he is. In his author’s note, Pancholy notes that Rahul’s story is semiautobiographical, and it shows. Every character in the story is nuanced and sympathetically rendered, and the book does not shy away from racism, sexism, ableism, or homophobia. The protagonist’s devastatingly honest voice pulls readers deeply into a fast-paced journey riddled with heartbreakingly authentic moments of anxiety, confusion, and triumph.
This coming-of-age story about diverse characters coming to grips with their layered identities rings true. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-286641-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A purposeful but not simplistic opener from the creators of the Hank Zipzer series.
Eleven-year-old Billy Broccoli’s move up to middle school is complicated by a teenage ghost determined to give him lessons in how to be cool.
The nerdy lad already has a lot on his plate: new house (with a bedroom done up in pink and lavender), new stepfather and prickly older stepsister, new school whose principal is his mother and nosy, bullying schoolmate Rod Brownstone for a next-door neighbor. It is understandable, then, that he’s only temporarily freaked out when hyperconfident former jock Hoover “The Hoove” Porterhouse III, a ghost killed 99 years ago, swims into view and grandly announces that Billy is his special project. It seems that the Hoove has just one more year to pull up his failing celestial grades in “Responsibility” and “Helping Others” or be tied to that house and surrounding property forever—a fate worse than, well…. As it happens, the schooling goes both ways, and by the end not only has Billy been guided away from wearing fart-joke T-shirts and taking tuna sandwiches for lunch, he’s shown the Hoove a better way to get Brownstone off his case than responding in kind when the bully engineers a public humiliation.
A purposeful but not simplistic opener from the creators of the Hank Zipzer series. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-29887-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A trek across the continent evolves into a journey of personal growth in this affecting book.
New cousins Lana and Cassie embark upon a road trip with their recently married grandparents and with very different attitudes.
Lana is excited to accompany her Grandpa Howe and his new wife on their honeymoon excursion and get a chance to befriend Cassie. However, Cassie would far prefer to stay home and foster her social connections with the ultracool Kendra. Initially, Cassie rebuffs Lana’s eager overtures, going so far as to make rules for the trip governing their interactions. Still, there are moments when Cassie lets go of her superior attitude, and the girls begin to forge a connection. McVoy’s tale examines the nature of friendship. Alternating chapters give each girl’s perspective on the journey, delving into their personal struggles and revealing their vulnerabilities. Cassie’s increasing desperation as she attempts to maintain her social standing with Kendra’s clique highlights the pressure and intensity of middle school social issues. McVoy also thoughtfully explores the impact of a parent’s health problems on a child. With compassionate insight, she addresses Lana’s feelings of abandonment and anxiety as her parents attempt to shield her from her mother’s serious illness. When their trip culminates in a visit to the aptly named “End of the Road,” both girls discover the support and strength found in friendships.
A trek across the continent evolves into a journey of personal growth in this affecting book. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-232243-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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