McCafferty knows her way around this age group; her depictions are pitch-perfect and will loudly resonate with girls facing...
Jessica Darling is back for a second funny and fluffy try at navigating the perils of seventh grade (Jessica Darling’s It List 1, 2013).
Her popular but ever-so-shallow older sister has provided a second short list—easy to misinterpret, it turns out—of pithy advice that is supposed to help Jessica identify true friends, foes and faux friends. Seventh grade offers a large collection of all of these. Her now-popular BFF Bridget has joined forces with their friend Dori, effectively excluding Jessica from their former threesome. Worse yet, Dori’s sure Jessica is making a play for her new boyfriend, Scotty. And Sara and Manda are sure to capitalize on any potential opening into the world of popularity, unconcerned, or perhaps even enjoying it, if Jessica becomes their hapless victim. Hope could be a friend; she’s hard to read. And then there are the boys: Both Scotty and Aleck may just have a thing for Jessica. The disastrous slumber party Jessica is cornered into hosting and her exclusion from two sets of group Halloween costumes worn by friends—or faux friends?—are so purely junior high behavior that if it weren’t all presented with ample humor, it might just be tragic.
McCafferty knows her way around this age group; her depictions are pitch-perfect and will loudly resonate with girls facing their own friends and foes. (Fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-316-24504-3
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Poppy/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2014
It is for Meggie Blue and her family when their tranquil life in North Carolina is interrupted by townspeople rightly...
When aggressive xenophobia closes in, it’s time to record memories in a mysterious whistle, pile into an invisible spaceship and optimistically fly to another planet. Isn’t that what everybody does?
It is for Meggie Blue and her family when their tranquil life in North Carolina is interrupted by townspeople rightly suspecting them of being alien. Though their native tongue is unusual and they sporadically sprout glowing blue hair after a certain age, the Blues are far from threatening and adore the sanctuary Earth provided when pollution destroyed their home planet. However, with their lives threatened, Meggie and her family vacate unwittingly to a parallel world characterized by destitute outlooks, subliminal mind control and really boring clothes. Alternating narration between 12-year-old Meggie and her 14-year-old brother, David, White (best known for Southern coming-of-age realism) paves the way for a relatively broad audience. And though the dialogue has occasional unnatural tempos, these awkward bumps can be chalked up to otherworldly speech patterns. Hovering in the vicinity of ET, The Twilight Zone and 1984, the attractive science-fiction formula accommodates the familiar coming-of-age arc. More important is the underlying theme of originality. Meggie and her family repeatedly have to prove (even to themselves) that being different or just plain alien is more than okay—even if your hair turns blue. A quirky commentary on age, environment, government and self-expression. (Science fiction. 11-14) .Pub Date: June 14, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-385-73998-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2011
Standard summer-camp–centric fare: Meatballs with bullies.
Will Camp Wy-Mee get the best of Rodney Rathbone, or can he survive bullies in the wild?
Twelve-year-old Rodney survived his first school year in Ohio thanks to luck and bully-avoidance skills (How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying, 2012). His plans for spending the summer with new friends (and girlfriend) are shattered when his parents decide to send him to camp without asking what he wants. (Were they prompted to send him by nefarious forces?) Even worse, school bully Josh Dumbrowski's headed for camp, too. Once there, Rodney finds Josh is small potatoes when it comes to bullying; Todd Vanderdick (seriously) and his snooty friends are ready to make Rodney's summer unbearable. To top it off, Mrs. Periwinkle, the camp owner, and her staff have it in for Rodney from the get-go. Rodney and his quirky cabin mates make the best of strange situations; but when the future of the camp rests on their shoulders, will they be up to the task? Starkey’s second title featuring unconventional bully-bester Rodney again has a few pop-culture references that will sail over the heads of the target audience. Several characters’ obsessive focus on girls further narrows the age range. Rodney's snarky narration can be funny, but his double standard on two-timing (it's okay for boys, not girls) and his judgmental nature (despite protestations to the contrary) make him less than admirable.
Standard summer-camp–centric fare: Meatballs with bullies. (Fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-5674-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
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