An intriguing tale.
In this story based on the author’s family history, a girl struggles to figure out where she belongs.
Born to a White American father and a Chinese mother, 12-year-old Ning feels out of place in 1878 Shanghai. Her hair is dark brown rather than black, she has green eyes, and her feet are not bound—uncommon given her age and affluent family background—all things that mark her as unattractive. Having never met her father and with her affection rebuffed by her mother, Ning finds friendship and support from Number One Boy, her mother’s servant. When the local matchmaker declares it will be impossible for her to make a decent marriage, Ning’s mother desperately arranges for Ning’s father to come. They agree to send her to live with her grandparents in upstate New York. Once there, Ning, now renamed “Neenah,” struggles with racism, identity, and lacking a sense of belonging. MacColl weaves an intriguing narrative inspired by the life of her great-great-grandmother. However, Chinese cultural cues are filtered through an American perspective, resulting in Ning’s mother’s being portrayed as unfeeling. Shocking and harsh racist remarks and encounters Neenah has in the U.S. are appropriate to the time, but young readers would have benefited from having them explained explicitly.
An intriguing tale. (author's note, picture credits) (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-62979-782-3
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2021
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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