Not perfect, but a worthwhile glimpse into a colorful culture.
In this coming-of-age story, Lee (Fricken Kids, 2013) tackles grief, teenage dissatisfaction, familial drama, and culture shock.
Gabriel Kane (pronounced kah-neh) Foster, 13, is desperately trying to deal with the grief and guilt caused by the death of his older sister, Makena. To make matters worse for Gabe, his parents have lost their house, and the whole family is moving from California to Hawaii, forcing Gabe to leave behind the house he grew up in and, even worse, his girlfriend, Deanna. Over it all is the shadow of Makena, never far away, because Gabriel’s mother insists on carrying her ashes around in a chunky plastic jar—and talking to them. Then there’s his extended family and the culture shock of a California teen thrust into the Hawaiian environment and culture. But it’s not all bad: his cousin U’i seems to like him, and her best friend, Napua, is one of the prettiest girls Gabe has ever seen. If he can just survive his bullying cousin Joe-Joe, abusive Uncle Nalu, aka Bob, and the family sport, paddling, Gabe might find that Hawaii isn’t far from the paradise everyone else seems to think it is. Lee does a commendable job capturing the voice of a disaffected teenage boy. Gabe’s struggles come across as authentic and true to life. Unfortunately, spending so much time in the point of view of an angst-ridden teenager has the effect of exaggerating many of the other characters to almost caricature levels, especially the adults. Gabriel’s mother reads as particularly horrible, and her abusive comments and reactions to her son are sometimes jarringly over the top. On the other hand, vibrant depictions of Hawaiian culture and language—vital to the characters’ lives—are skillfully blended into the story.
Not perfect, but a worthwhile glimpse into a colorful culture.Pub Date: Feb. 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0996132800
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Makalii Productions
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Not enough tricks to make this a treat.
Another holiday title (How To Catch the Easter Bunny by Adam Wallace, illustrated by Elkerton, 2017) sticks to the popular series’ formula.
Rhyming four-line verses describe seven intrepid trick-or-treaters’ efforts to capture the witch haunting their Halloween. Rhyming roadblocks with toolbox is an acceptable stretch, but too often too many words or syllables in the lines throw off the cadence. Children familiar with earlier titles will recognize the traps set by the costume-clad kids—a pulley and box snare, a “Tunnel of Tricks.” Eventually they accept her invitation to “floss, bump, and boogie,” concluding “the dance party had hit the finale at last, / each dancing monster started to cheer! / There’s no doubt about it, we have to admit: / This witch threw the party of the year!” The kids are diverse, and their costumes are fanciful rather than scary—a unicorn, a dragon, a scarecrow, a red-haired child in a lab coat and bow tie, a wizard, and two space creatures. The monsters, goblins, ghosts, and jack-o'-lanterns, backgrounded by a turquoise and purple night sky, are sufficiently eerie. Still, there isn’t enough originality here to entice any but the most ardent fans of Halloween or the series. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Not enough tricks to make this a treat. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72821-035-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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