Unabashedly, a young hero from the margins shocks, then ultimately conquers the mainstream in this strangely compelling...
A middle-grade novel tells the story of an outsider who searches for something that will make him special.
Jarrod likes bugs. He keeps them in his bedroom and feels that they are misunderstood, just like he is. (Especially the cockroaches he’s training.) Jarrod can identify lots of different insects. He knows all about them and is happy to share. This, unfortunately, has made him an outcast. He has one friend, Gavin, but to all the other eighth-graders—indeed, to the rest of the school—he is “Bug-boy.” If that weren’t bad enough, Jarrod has a condition. Every couple of days or so, without warning or explanation, he passes out. Nobody knows why, but he has to wear a helmet—all the time. The helmet makes him look like a bug, setting him further apart. Life is difficult; even Gavin seems as if he’s drifting away. But then Jarrod swallows a fly, and suddenly everything makes sense. His condition isn’t a weakness at all: It’s a superpower (of sorts) stemming from his affinity for bugs. But who will believe him? How’s he going to track down the sickening puppy mill he’s just seen through the eyes of a fly? Stewart writes in the first-person, present tense, bringing intimacy to Jarrod’s isolation and immediacy to his plight. The boy’s regular bug eating—which forms an integral part of the story, described copiously and in graphic detail—won’t be to everyone’s taste. (He can access the memories of the pests he devours.) Yet there’s no denying the gross-out appeal of Jarrod’s metamorphosis from passive introvert to proactive, insect-crunching champion. His relationships, moreover, are worked neatly into the plot and add depth to Stewart’s (The River Keepers, 2017, etc.) lively book. Jarrod’s interactions with his parents show how superficial his differences really are; so too do his friendship with Gavin and his awkward introduction to a student called Dog-girl and the unlikely prospect of romance. Jarrod, in short, is a character whom many young readers will recognize, perhaps with unkind preconceptions. But before they know it, they’ll likely have embraced his aptitude—his “thing”—and be rooting for him.
Unabashedly, a young hero from the margins shocks, then ultimately conquers the mainstream in this strangely compelling oddity.Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9937579-8-3
Page Count: 134
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
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
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
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