A wily pack of bedside reading for fans of up-and-coming fantasists.
An assembly of international writers assumes the mantle of the Brothers Grimm with contemporary folk and fairy tales.
Bulgarian author Michael Harris Cohen’s story “The Ex-Court Painter, Goya, and the Princess” places readers in the Madrid of Charles IV. Chosen by the king to paint his dead daughter, lonely ex–court painter Angelo discovers that his replacement, Goya, is struggling with his turbulent, final masterworks. While “aging” the dead princess by painting her portrait annually, Angelo falls in love with his creation. The theme of madness buoys other tales in the selections, too. Cheryl Stiles’ deceptively creepy free verse, “Gourmaundeth,” takes its cue from the true story of a modern-day “Menschenfresser,” or man-eater. Joann Oh’s whimsical “Bury Me in Faerie” turns an old woman’s dementia into an end-of-life gift. Many of the stories directly invoke the archetypal characters first recorded by the Grimms in the 19th century. Block re-examines “Snow White” in her strong, ultimately sentimental “Mirror Child.” Hansel and Gretel are re-examined by gifted poet Erin Virgil (“Four Grimm Tales, Revisited”) and, in much longer form, by John Kiste, in the guises of Henry and Gerta in “Henry’s Tale.” Elodie Olson-Coons, in “Fish,” adds a note of disillusionment—and a unique second-person voice—to “The Fisherman and His Wife.” Some authors retain the cruelty and violence of the original folk tales, as in “The Black Widow,” Clayton Lister’s sinister story of twisted love, and the disturbing encounter between a princess and a smooth-talking frog in Maude Larke’s “Persuasion.” But the cleverest of the lot reinvent the folk tale from an American vantage point. Joyce Winters Henderson’s “Misery and Blue” tells how a fight between giants led to the birth of the “Blues.” Tim Belden’s delightful “Once, I Was Avedon” uses spare verse to transform subjects from the iconic photographer’s oeuvre into a modern pantheon. Illustrations scattered throughout the book add a nice touch to the text, but overall, the quality of the collection is uneven: Some pieces are better crafted than others, while more than a few seem overworked or incomplete.
A wily pack of bedside reading for fans of up-and-coming fantasists.Pub Date: May 11, 2013
ISBN: 978-0982833025
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Indigo Ink Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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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