An engaging, worthwhile collection of connected stories.
A collection of short stories that cover war, love and life from the Great Depression to Generation X.
Several characters appear repeatedly throughout the book; Wesley Weatherly gets the most stage time. Readers see him first as a child in New Orleans during two influential incidents involving his father. One happens at Mardi Gras, where his father confronts three men in rooster costumes who catcall Wesley’s mother. The other is at his uncle’s ranch in Texas. There, Wesley’s father confronts an uncle who threatens a black field hand over a perceived slight concerning the uncle’s wife. Wesley feels a mix of resentment and admiration for his father, for his capabilities and his righteousness. That paradigm is at work throughout Girault’s stories. There are no heroes, especially when it comes to love and war. The supposedly fearless, emotionless ship captain in “Dragon In the Box” comes up short in a pivotal moment in a boar hunt. In “Hands,” a Navy man tried to adjust to civilian life and finds he only feels like himself after he’s solved a situation with violence. Wes himself is often haunted by his past—by the woman he left in Australia in “The Nymph of Nullarbor”; by survivor’s guilt when a blast throws him free of his ship during a kamikaze attack; and by his naiveté about war when his own son becomes a veteran in “Souvenirs.” “You Must Remember This” is an antidote to glorifying war, starting with the opening line, “How do you tell your Generation X granddaughter that you were not a heroine in World War II, and that the head nurse called you Nurse Beaver?” Girault’s stories aren’t strictly slice-of-life, but they aren’t necessarily morality plays, either. The characters have epiphanies about their lives and actions, but that’s not the same as having resolutions. They are fully formed and complicated, brooding and laughing, philandering and generous in spirit. Though he does occasionally succumb to a corny line (“Dragon in the Box” begins with, “Don’t call me Ishmael. I was only the ship’s photographer.”), Girault’s prose is clean and often vivid. And each story can become a game of looking for how it is related to its predecessors.
An engaging, worthwhile collection of connected stories.Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-1432779740
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Outskirts
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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