Middle school can be a difficult time for kids, especially those who become the targets of bullies. Girls often join cliques and practice the art of victimizing their peers. Boys seek out the weak and vulnerable to harass in the classroom, hallway or locker room. And technology ups the ante with online meanness, where cruelty can be anonymous and difficult to trace. In this lively presentation, victims of bullying tell their own stories, each account accompanied by a full-page color photograph of the narrator. Jean, burned as an infant, is taunted because of his appearance; Jaevon has seizures and is hit, spit upon and called “seizure boy” and “mental”; Emily, the new girl, tries to join a clique but is ever the outsider. Each of the 13 middle schoolers here experienced bullying and learned to deal with it. Advice from Dorothy Espelage, an expert on adolescent bullying, is offered on each page, and the volume concludes with “Tips on Dealing with Bullies.” Given the topic, it's an upbeat approach offering realistic and down-to-earth advice, though the picture-book look may limit its reach. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-8075-0921-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
An apt choice for collections that already have stronger alternatives, such as R.J. Palacio's Wonder (2012).
A memoir of the first 14 years in the life of Australian Robert Hoge, born with stunted legs and a tumor in the middle of his face.
In 1972, Robert is born, the youngest of five children, with fishlike eyes on the sides of his face, a massive lump in place of his nose, and malformed legs. As baby Robert is otherwise healthy, the doctors convince his parents to approve the first of many surgeries to reduce his facial difference. One leg is also amputated, and Robert comes home to his everyday white, working-class family. There's no particular theme to the tale of Robert's next decade and a half: he experiences school and teasing, attempts to participate in sports, and is shot down by a girl. Vignette-driven choppiness and the lack of an overarching narrative would make the likeliest audience be those who seek disability stories. However, young Robert's ongoing quest to identify as "normal"—a quest that remains unchanged until a sudden turnaround on the penultimate page—risks alienating readers comfortable with their disabilities. Brief lyrical moments ("as compulsory as soggy tomato sandwiches at snack time") appeal but are overwhelmed by the dry, distant prose dominating this autobiography.
An apt choice for collections that already have stronger alternatives, such as R.J. Palacio's Wonder (2012). (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-425-28775-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
There is both solace and inspiration in these 11 heroes, but it doesn’t take much to imagine that for each of them, there...
Stories of 11 athletes overcoming adversity to become the cream of their sports, from Wall Street Journal writer Zuckerman and his two sons.
Some of these athletes’ stories are well-known, how they excelled despite the most serious obstacles, be it having only one hand and dreaming of being a baseball player (Jim Abbott) or standing down the racism that attended tennis, as Althea Gibson did. Others may be more obscure. Soccer goalie Tim Howard had to struggle with Tourette’s and obsessive-compulsive behavior; Stephen Curry was small enough that he had to be a walk-on at Virginia Tech to even get a chance at basketball. There is poverty, sexual abuse, physical abuse, abandonment, illiteracy, and even civil war in Congo. While the subjects can carry almost any weight, the Zuckermans struggle to bring them to life. Often luck was the key to success: being in the right place at the right time and seen by someone who got and kept the ball rolling. And while it is never easy to explain transcendent sporting ability, quotes like “It was like I was floating on air,” from Tim Howard, or—without diminishing LeBron James’ mother’s influence—“He had his mother to love and comfort him” have little insight to offer.
There is both solace and inspiration in these 11 heroes, but it doesn’t take much to imagine that for each of them, there were dozens who didn’t get the break. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-17382-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
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