A little—very little—information about male sexual organs and plenty of classroom intrigue keep sixth grader River embarrassed, confused, and angry in this airy sequel to Expecting the Unexpected (1996). As River silently admires classmate DB and compiles a guide for parents (“No parent shall dance, either separately or together, to any music at any time, including when alone at home”), her friend Margaret schemes to get her single father and their sex-ed teacher Mrs. Furley together; meanwhile, Kirstin works on an elaborate plan to drive River and BD, as well as several other nascent couples, apart using forged mash notes and a certain undergarment from a well-known lingerie catalog. Quick changes of time and scene, plus a cast of preadolescents beginning to focus on the courtship ritual, keep the tone light and the instruction unlabored; fluffy but readable, it’s familiar territory for Danziger and Blume fans, and in the end Jukes dishes out just deserts all round. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-385-32243-7
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1998
Sixth-grader Troy White is a one-of-a-kind athlete with the ability to predict which plays any football team will run even before the ball is snapped. However, his mental talents don’t help him crack his youth-league team’s starting lineup (the coach plays his own son at quarterback). Troy dreams of pitching his talent to his beloved Atlanta Falcons, helping them post a winning season. Seemingly an after-school-special waiting to happen, and marked by cinematic writing, this feel-good story has a place in libraries fielding requests for clean and uplifting stories. Touching scenes of underdog Troy wishing he had a father to help him are contrasted with very realistic on-the-field football action, which is not surprising considering that the author is a former NFL player. Many actual players’ names are dropped throughout the story but some, like Randy Moss, may soon switch teams. More than a sports story, romance pops up as Troy nudges star Falcon linebacker Seth Halloway to date Troy’s mother. This light and fast-paced story will appeal to the tween crowd. (Fiction. 10-13)
Pub Date: July 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-112270-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2007
The Galactic Confederation is nothing if not fair. Before they commit to annihilating the human race, they’ll send an emissary to ensure it is without redemption. Ketchvar III, a hyperintelligent snail from the planet Sandoval, is determined to find the worth of the human race by merging consciousness with the most typical specimen of humanity he can find. That specimen is Tom Filber, “Caucasian, fourteen years old, and in good health.” But perhaps Ketchvar has chosen poorly: Tom’s mother is a violent, shrewish woman, his father is an unemployed alcoholic and his classmates—though ignorant of Ketchvar—all refer to Tom as “Alien.” Are humans truly vile, or has Ketchvar chosen a particularly dysfunctional family to analyze? Not surprisingly, Ketchvar’s study of humanity becomes a life lesson for Ketchvar himself, as he tries to fix some of the problems in Tom’s family and town. Despite hackneyed gender stereotypes and a cast of stock characters, the painful humor (or perhaps the humorous pain) of Ketchvar’s adventure will win fans. (Science fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: March 16, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-374-39951-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2010
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