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ON THE WATERFRONT

A throwback coming-of-age novel featuring fine messages but predictable narrative beats.

In McCoy’s debut YA historical novel, a teenage boy searches for role models among the older boys at a Boy Scout camp.

It’s the summer of 1978. Thirteen-year-old Danny Novak was having a difficult time even before his mom dropped him off at Camp Baker, near Florence, Oregon. He’s still acclimating himself to life after his parents’ divorce, including his mother’s decision to move him and his brother from a nice Portland suburb to Lebanon, a small lumber town. His job at the camp is supposed to be a welcome respite from his difficulties at home, and he wants one of the sought-after positions working at the lake—“on the waterfront,” as it’s known: “They’ve got the coolest jobs,” one of the other workers tells him. “They hang out in the sun, swim, and paddle boats all day.” To land a spot, however, Danny will have to pass a swim test. He’s not used to swimming in lakes, as he’s only done so in pools before. He’s placed under the tutelage of the biggest, baddest kid on the waterfront, 16-year-old Mark, whom the adults see as a troublemaker. Mark has been warned that he’ll be sent home if he doesn’t turn Danny into a competent swimmer. The unlikely pairing becomes an unexpectedly cathartic friendship—until tragedy intervenes. McCoy’s prose effectively captures the emotionally fraught state between childhood and adolescence: “This time, I didn’t fight the tears,” narrates Danny. “I knew I was acting like a baby, feeling sorry for myself….I didn’t feel I fit in with the guys in my troop, but the guys on staff viewed me as a little kid. I just don’t fit.” In many ways, the book feels like an artifact from an earlier era, and not just because of the title, which recalls the acclaimed 1954 Marlon Brando film. Although the narrative grapples admirably with the issue of toxic masculinity, it ultimately takes a hard turn toward the sentimental, with an ending some may find a bit sappy.

A throwback coming-of-age novel featuring fine messages but predictable narrative beats.

Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2022

ISBN: 9781736602188

Page Count: 196

Publisher: Blaster Tech

Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2023

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SOLO

A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.

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The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.

On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.

A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9

Page Count: 464

Publisher: Blink

Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017

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PEMMICAN WARS

A GIRL CALLED ECHO, VOL. I

A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.

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In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people’s Canadian history.

Métis teenager Echo Desjardins finds herself living in a home away from her mother, attending a new school, and feeling completely lonely as a result. She daydreams in class and wanders the halls listening to a playlist of her mother’s old CDs. At home, she shuts herself up in her room. But when her history teacher begins to lecture about the Pemmican Wars of early 1800s Saskatchewan, Echo finds herself swept back to that time. She sees the Métis people following the bison with their mobile hunting camp, turning the animals’ meat into pemmican, which they sell to the Northwest Company in order to buy supplies for the winter. Echo meets a young girl named Marie, who introduces Echo to the rhythms of Métis life. She finally understands what her Métis heritage actually means. But the joys are short-lived, as conflicts between the Métis and their rivals in the Hudson Bay Company come to a bloody head. The tragic history of her people will help explain the difficulties of the Métis in Echo’s own time, including those of her mother and the teen herself. Accompanied by dazzling art by Henderson (A Blanket of Butterflies, 2017, etc.) and colorist Yaciuk (Fire Starters, 2016, etc.), this tale is a brilliant bit of time travel. Readers are swept back to 19th-century Saskatchewan as fully as Echo herself. Vermette’s (The Break, 2017, etc.) dialogue is sparse, offering a mostly visual, deeply contemplative juxtaposition of the present and the past. Echo’s eventual encounter with her mother (whose fate has been kept from readers up to that point) offers a powerful moment of connection that is both unexpected and affecting. “Are you…proud to be Métis?” Echo asks her, forcing her mother to admit, sheepishly: “I don’t really know much about it.” With this series opener, the author provides a bit more insight into what that means.

A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.

Pub Date: March 15, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-55379-678-7

Page Count: 48

Publisher: HighWater Press

Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018

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