Unlike doomsayers who paint a stark picture of no-win choices between eating and breathing, Aaseng carefully teases out facts and trends to answer his subtitle's question in the affirmative. Artfully beginning with a history of conflict over the implementation of environmental regulations, he shows how unemployed people came to blame environmentalists for job losses and outlines the agenda of the Wise Use Coalition, a group opposed to environmental regulation. Then, point by point, he counters their arguments and concludes with a chapter on how environmental stewardship can create jobs while solving other problems as well. He also balances viewpoints on the merits of government regulation vs. individual initiative. His writing style is particularly well adapted to these topics, conveying the passions involved while remaining fair to each side. An evenhanded summary of some truly vital concerns. Includes source notes, bibliography, index, illustrations not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-89490-574-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Enslow
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
A wholly original novel that celebrates connection in unlikely places.
A 19th-century astronomy textbook connects two isolated teens in this epistolary collection of notes and drawings.
“Copernicus” is grieving their astrophysicist mother’s recent death. Their dad sent them to their grandparents in Green Bank, West Virginia, to complete senior year. A cryptic note their mother left behind leads the San Francisco native to an old textbook in the school library. Since the Green Bank Observatory’s sensitive equipment requires a ban on Wi-Fi in the area, instead of scrolling on their phone, Copernicus spends study hall creating fanciful artwork and writing letters to their mother in the pages of the textbook. After another student leaves a sticky note asking them to stop defacing the book, their exchanges evolve into true dialogue. “Kepler” is only in the school building early each morning, before she’s bussed to a gifted program. While she plans to leave the area for college, she’s proud of her Appalachian roots. The two, who appear white in the illustrations, ultimately join forces to investigate strange phenomena that occurred when Copernicus’ mother was in high school, referring to themselves and other members of their community through astronomy-related code names. Over the school year, they trade candid exchanges and challenge each other to grow. While their communications are confined to paper, their friendship feels organic and earned. Walker’s clever, eye-catching collages and drawings appear on the pages of a real historical astronomy textbook, incorporating the textbook’s contents in ways that maximize their effect.
A wholly original novel that celebrates connection in unlikely places. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593692677
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
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