Calvin Schwa is special, see? Well, no, because you can’t see him at all. The Schwa is disturbingly unnoticeable. For years he has been marked absent in school, and he has certainly never managed to make friends. When—with great difficulty—he intrudes upon the consciousness of Antsy and friends, the boys try to codify what they call “the Schwa effect.” Will the Schwa be noticed spying in the teachers’ lounge? Thumbing his nose at the principal? Standing in the boys’ bathroom, wearing a Day-Glo orange sombrero, and singing “God Bless America” at the top of his lungs? Amidst their antics, Antsy and the Schwa come to the aid of a cranky and rich old man with a beautiful blind granddaughter, start national graffiti trends, and explore the Schwa’s (quite interesting!) paperclip collection. It’s all fun and games until friendships dissolve. Will the mysterious Night Butcher provide the Schwa with clues to his unwanted invisibility? The presence of stock characters and subplots doesn’t detract from the cleverness and humor of this tall tale. (Fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-525-47182-0
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
A melodramatic tale of a young snowboarder with terrifically bad judgement. First, Declan worms his way into the “Urban Xtreme Team,” a gang of Vancouver graffitists; then, when they perish in a self-started fire and he opts for a six-week rehabilitation stint in the mountains, he responds to the jeers of a rival by nearly killing himself three times, snowboarding down slopes that are beyond his ability. The third time is actually a suicide attempt, but in surviving it, he ends up straightening himself out. Declan picks up the rudiments of snowboarding with convenient ease, the cast is composed of types, and readers unfamiliar with the sport may stumble over the jargon; still, for solid vicarious entertainment, the plot is comprised of nonstop wild rides, avalanches, and wipe-outs. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 5, 1999
ISBN: 0-8225-3307-3
Page Count: 138
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
In ten interrelated short stories, Wittlinger (Hard Love, p. 971, etc.) catches teenagers seeking self-identity in a small Massachusetts town that is engaged in a similar process. With the exception of O’Neill, who clicks into place when he allows himself to realize that he’s gay, the characters are defined by either their backgrounds, peer roles, or single parents: Ricardo is a puzzled, amused exchange student from Brazil; Nadia, a Russian immigrant in a self-imposed but increasingly fragile shell of isolation; Shaquanda buses in daily from her inner- city neighborhood; Quincy’s the jock; Adam, the new kid, etc. Wittlinger gives them touches of individuality, but they stay close to type, innocent of malice, sex, or (with the exception of Shaquanda) substance abuse—their idea of rebellion is picking an unexpected college—but they do all move in promising directions. The stories are linked by one pushy mother’s divisive campaign to change the town’s name from Scrub Harbor to the more gentrified Folly Bay, but Wittlinger, focused on her characters, allows that plot line to fizzle out. Although it’s low on surprises, this gallery of clean-cut high schoolers does offer a hopeful view of youth on the way to adulthood. (Short stories. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-689-82551-X
Page Count: 146
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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