A quietly moving exploration of identity, friendship, and family that encourages facing one’s fears
Twelve-year-old Joey’s discovery of a treehouse in his favorite wooded hideout has an unexpected outcome in this Australian import.
Joey feels practically invisible to his classmates and worries that his lack of athletic prowess disappoints his dad—he is most comfortable playing guitar alone “on the hill.” While his deepest wish is to be in a band, he feels too shy to make it happen. Joey, who presents white, has an encyclopedic knowledge of male historical figures, to whom he often compares himself: “Landing on the moon…on behalf of all mankind [is] deadly important and a million times more glorious and triumphant than being nice or sensitive.” Yet his outlook expands after meeting Marsh (his nickname for her since her treehouse resembles a Martian spaceship) and accepting their shared connection to “the hill.” Territorial resentment gives way to curiosity and empathy as he learns that Marsh built the treehouse to feel closer to her dead mother; that her Serbian parents moved here, to Australia, before her birth; and that her real name, Ruzica, makes her a target at school. Joey’s observations about Marsh and her father (first perceived as an unwashed drinker of beer) at times seem rooted in stereotypes, and his continuing use of a nickname that is based on that of a literal alien to refer to his friend sounds an off note. However, Joey and Marsh’s deepening friendship (and daring entry into the Battle of the Bands) rings true.
A quietly moving exploration of identity, friendship, and family that encourages facing one’s fears . (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-399-55044-7
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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