An action-packed story that’s full of adventure, mischief, and animal fun.
In Rosenberg’s debut middle-grade novel, an 11-year-old girl and her pals search for stolen pets in their quirky Indiana town.
Young Indiana Bamboo loves animals, and even though she has a large brood of pets at home, she loves to visit Mr. Humperdink’s shop, Paradise Pets. The owner, a former wildlife rehabilitator, offers typical pet-shop mainstays, such as a cockapoo puppy named Princess Penelope and a macaw named Hendrix, but he also houses exotic animals that he rescued from an illegal carnival. Indiana’s favorite of these is Maurice, an ice cream–loving brown bear with whom she often has tea and one-sided conversations. A few days before her 11th birthday, Indiana is shocked to hear that Paradise Pets has apparently been robbed of its animals. Later, at Stefano Stefano’s Ice Cream Parlor, she overhears a suspicious gentleman saying, “be there with the money—all the money—or you’re never gonna see that cuddly bear and his furry friends again.” Indiana, her best friend Jamie Doolittle, and a neighborhood boy named Tom Weaver (who may know more than he’s letting on) traipse around their small town of River Creek on a quest to rescue their animal friends. Most of this book maintains a lighthearted tone, although Indiana’s search also touches on some heavier themes, such as animal abuse, and she gets into some dangerous situations, including being trapped in a truck. Indiana is an appealingly plucky heroine, and the plot is smooth and fast-paced. Although the ending isn’t a total surprise, there are some intriguing twists and turns beforehand that readers may not expect. The prose also has fresh and clever moments, such as when Indiana says, “My brain was usually...full of ideas, they crashed around like bumper cars at the Indiana State Fair.” Many elements require a suspension of disbelief, however, such as the aforementioned “blueberry-peppermint crunch ice cream eating, lemongrass tea drinking” brown bear—who also dances and wears a cape.
An action-packed story that’s full of adventure, mischief, and animal fun.Pub Date: March 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-60454-245-5
Page Count: -
Publisher: Iris Press
Review Posted Online: June 12, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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