An engrossing, capably written picture of fine young people endeavoring to find the right way in a world that persistently...
Continuing the saga of the Logan family—extraordinary as black landowners in pre-WW II Mississippi while also representative of the agonies of survival in a racist society—Cassie (age nine in Newbery-winner Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, 1976) recounts harrowing events during late 1941.
Now 17 and aiming for law school, Cassie goes to school in nearby Jackson, where older brother Stacey works and has earned his first car. At home, redneck bullying is as cruel as ever: as "coon" in a malicious "hunt," one friend is severely wounded; another, Moe, is attacked and goaded until he retaliates with a crowbar. Old friend and ally Jeremy, though kin to the white tormentors, helps spirit Moe to Jackson (a courageous act for which he later pays a terrible price); with Cassie and new soldier Clarence joining in the perilous journey, Stacey drives Moe to Memphis to catch a northbound train to safety. As in the other Logan stories, the painful, authentic, vividly portrayed injustices follow one after another, each making its point: Clarence's death after a white doctor refuses to treat him; the barely averted gang-rape of a black gift found alone; the malicious vandalizing of Stacey's car. There are only occasional consoling hints of the Logans' powerful family unity; the one comfortingly safe interlude here is with Solomon Bradley, a charismatic, Harvard-educated black lawyer who runs a Memphis newspaper—his unresolved relationship with Cassie, who is on the verge of becoming a dauntless, spirited, highly intelligent woman, looks like a good subject for another book.
An engrossing, capably written picture of fine young people endeavoring to find the right way in a world that persistently wrongs them. (Historical fiction. 10-16)Pub Date: May 1, 1990
ISBN: 0140360778
Page Count: 308
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1990
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
Both compassionate and amusing, with memorable characters, if a bit light on plot and heavy on message.
If your brother is “mental,” what does that say about you?
The only thing 14-year-old Zach wants for Christmas is to visit his older brother Derek. The catch: Zach is in Maine, and Derek now lives in a mental institution in New Jersey. But with his trusty grandfather in tow, Zach makes the long bus pilgrimage during a snowstorm, encountering a punked-out older girl along the way. Once “Purplehead” shares her troubled past, will Zach reveal his own secrets? In first-person narration with ample flashbacks, Zach struggles to understand Derek’s stormy bipolar illness, retracing his brother’s unpredictable swings from charming flirt to self-harming wild-man. Zach also ruminates on his own worst fears (“I might wake up some morning and be just like him”), even as he rejoices in his newfound relationship. Deans (Rainy, 2005, etc.) weaves in social commentary via the family’s financial struggles with That Thievin’ Insurance Company, which have forced them to make Derek a ward of the state. Although told in an energetic, sympathetic voice, the story occasionally suffers from predictable and underdeveloped action. Still, readers, especially those with family or friends with similar challenges, should find this book reaffirming and poignant. And few writers have the same passion for exploring the lives of the poor as Deans.
Both compassionate and amusing, with memorable characters, if a bit light on plot and heavy on message. (author’s note) (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9355-1
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2011
Reluctant teen readers will identify with Javier’s efforts to negotiate a world with few positive options.
Middle school proves particularly difficult for Javier when he is assigned to spend time helping students in the special-education program.
Javier is about to enter middle school in a small California town with little to offer. He lives with his mother, who struggles with finances and drugs, and sometimes his father, when he is between jail stints. Javier and his friends are expected to be in a gang and constantly work to prove their toughness. Javier also knows enough to hide that he likes to read and how much he wants to avoid trouble. When he is given a service assignment working with special-education students, Javier is dismayed because it means more taunts and teasing. He does not expect his work reading with severely disabled Dontae to change him and provide a level of connection that has been missing in his life. This story, simple in both language and characterization, demonstrates the inevitability of a future on the margins for minority males without some help staying on track. His father is able to articulate it even as he is powerless to change. “I mean, it’s easy to say you want to do something, but can you see the path? Shoot, man. I wanted to do a lot of things, but I had no idea how to even start. And then sometimes you do see the path, but it gets blurry again.”
Reluctant teen readers will identify with Javier’s efforts to negotiate a world with few positive options. (Fiction 11-13)Pub Date: May 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8234-2348-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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