With miraculous skill, Bawden places yet another set of vibrant characters in a compelling plot seasoned with cold reality, the warmth of enduring relationships, and moral ironies. Cora, eight, and her older brother and sister are to stay with their grandparents for six months while their parents are in Japan. When Granny is hospitalized, Cora is moved next door, where ``Aunt Sunday'' (no relation) has a daughter her age. Pretty Angelica's manner with adults befits her name, but she's actually a cruel, deceitful child whose adoring mother is in terror of her wiles. Fortunately, Sunday's mother, ``Ma Potter,'' a retired headmistress in failing health who is virtually captive in the household, befriends Cora, sharing her books and her philosophy on dealing with posturing and untruths: ``I.G.N.O.R.E.'' what can't be helped, especially when it's ``humbug.'' Still, when Angelica accuses Cora of stealing a ring and even Grandpa believes her lies, Cora flees in distress and anger. By the time she's brought home, though, Granny is also there and truth once again prevails—except, of course, in the social niceties. Much of the tension here grows out of the characters' complexity, shown in dozens of revealing glimpses and background details: Cora, brighter than her jealous older sister, has weathered cruel teasing before and often fibs but is fundamentally honest and kind; some of the reasons for Angelica's spite go back two generations, some are self-perpetuating—but that doesn't excuse them. A splendid, thought-provoking story. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 21, 1992
ISBN: 0-395-62149-6
Page Count: 133
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1992
Oozing with fun.
The new kid in town finds himself caught up in a slime-selling battle.
Twelve-year-old Alex Manalo is passionate about two things: slime and business. So when he and his dad (his mother has died) move from Silicon Valley to Sacramento to take over his grandparents’ struggling Filipino market, he is excited that they’ll have their own business. Being the new kid isn’t easy, and while Alex isn’t sporty or tall like the popular kids at his old school, he soon discovers that his new middle school is big on slime. Alex makes all kinds of slime with different ingredients, textures, and smells, garnering the attention of his classmates. A new friend convinces him to sell his slime, but that spurs a slime war with the girl who holds the slime monopoly at school. It isn’t going to be easy, especially when his dad thinks slime is a waste of time and that Alex should be playing soccer. With his hands in many different activities, Alex fights to win sticky battles with his family, new friends, and himself. Respicio has written an exciting, fast-paced story of friendship, family, and community. Throughout the book, Alex often struggles to make his opinions heard, but he eventually finds his voice and understands what it really means to be a winner. Alex and his family are Filipino; there is diversity in the supporting cast. The book includes different slime recipes.
Oozing with fun. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30267-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
The Baudelaire children—Violet, 14, Klaus, 12, and baby Sunny—are exceedingly ill-fated; Snicket extracts both humor and horror from their situation, as he gleefully puts them through one terrible ordeal after another. After receiving the news that their parents died in a fire, the three hapless orphans are delivered into the care of Count Olaf, who “is either a third cousin four times removed, or a fourth cousin three times removed.” The villainous Count Olaf is morally depraved and generally mean, and only takes in the downtrodden yet valiant children so that he can figure out a way to separate them from their considerable inheritance. The youngsters are able to escape his clutches at the end, but since this is the first installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, there will be more ghastly doings. Written with old-fashioned flair, this fast-paced book is not for the squeamish: the Baudelaire children are truly sympathetic characters who encounter a multitude of distressing situations. Those who enjoy a little poison in their porridge will find it wicked good fun. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-440766-7
Page Count: 162
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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