A 13-year-old girl flees her abusive home to live secretly in her school.
Jewel tolerates her parents’ abuse, from the theft of her babysitting money to outright violence, in order to protect her developmentally disabled kid brother. When one of her dad’s drunken friends tries to rape her, her parents turn a blind eye. Jewel knows that she needs to run away for her own safety. She spends 10 days roughing it before she runs out of carefully hoarded food and returns to town—and to school. Jewel attends classes by day and sleeps in the art-room supply cupboard at night. Maya and Lily, two well-off girls, notice her odd behavior and seek her out. In alternating sections, Maya and Jewel share their perspectives on Jewel’s solo adventure. Though Maya’s aid is invaluable, it also leads to Jewel’s discovery by adults. Maya and Jewel, who both appear to be white, come from sharply different social classes. With no other poor families present in the story, the poverty of Jewel’s parents becomes inextricably tied to their abuse. Their bad grammar, cursing, cigarette smoking, motorcycles, and clothing (“way too young for a mother, cleavage,” thinks Maya) all paint a lazily stereotyped picture of criminal trash, in opposition to the kindly rich parents found elsewhere. When Jewel’s situation is wrapped up tidily, that frees Maya up for her next rescue project: a Syrian refugee.
The tale of Jewel’s determined struggle is moving but weakened by Maya’s bad case of savior-itis . (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Aug. 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77306-078-1
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Groundwood
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.
Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0312369816
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1975
Categories: CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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On a birthday trip to New York City, a girl learns about her roots, Harlem, and how to stay true to herself.
Eleven-year-old sneakerhead Amara is struggling to feel seen and heard. A new baby sister is on the way, her mom still wants to put her in dresses, and that birthday trip from the Portland, Oregon, suburbs to New York City that she so desperately wants feels out of reach. When Amara gets a family-history assignment, she is finally able to convince her mom to say yes to the trip, since it will allow Amara to meet her dad’s side of the family in person. In addition to the school project, her mom gives Amara a secret mission: get her dad and grandpa to spend time alone together to repair old wounds. Harlem proves unlike any place Amara has ever been, and as she explores where her father grew up she experiences black history on every street. Watson is a master at character development, with New York City and especially Harlem playing central roles. Through her all-black cast she seamlessly explores issues of identity, self, and family acceptance. Although the ending feels rushed, with no resolution between Amara and her mom, Amara’s concluding poem is powerful.
A moving exploration of the places we come from and the people who shape us—not to be missed. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68119-108-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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