A clumsy, vision-seeing, forever-weeping ex-convict is the unlikely catalyst in Walker's affecting story of a daughter's emotional healing after the untimely death of her father in a plane accident. Amelia's father Jed kept the field behind his house, which served as the runway for his plane, neatly mowed and debris-free. Before going away on a trip, he would remind his daughter to "keep the runway clear," which Amelia understood meant more than just picking up downed twigs; it meant "taking care of things" until he returned. But now that Jed's never coming home, the runway is literally and metaphorically covered in weeds and trash. Amelia barely passed sixth grade, and she and her mother have both retreated into a world of silent sorrow. The sorrow lies particularly heavy on Amelia, as she believes that she may have accidentally caused her father's death, a subject that so fills her with guilt and shame that she can neither talk about it nor heal. The arrival of Brother Mustard Seed, an annoying, bumbling, over-emotional yet well-meaning "sinner" who claims that he saw Jed in a vision, stirs up the family dynamic and allows Walker to explore the jumbled, quasi-mystical connections between belief and bravery, laughter and letting go. Brother Mustard Seed is an original creation, curious and contradictory, and like Amelia, readers should find him initially irritating though eventually almost endearing. Even if occasionally overburdened by its own symbolism, the book's twangy first person narrative keeps the reader engaged to the touching, tear-inducing end. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-439-21586-2
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2001
Longing—for connection, for family, for a voice—roars to life with just a touch of magic.
A young girl bargaining for the health of her grandmother discovers both her family’s past and the strength of her own voice.
For many years, Lily’s Korean grandmother, Halmoni, has shared her Asian wisdom and healing powers with her predominantly White community. When Lily, her sister, Sam—both biracial, Korean and White—and their widowed mom move in with Halmoni to be close with her as she ages, Lily begins to see a magical tiger. What were previously bedtime stories become dangerously prophetic, as Lily begins to piece together fact from fiction. There is no need for prior knowledge of Korean folktales, although a traditional Korean myth propels the story forward. From the tiger, Lily learns that Halmoni has bottled up the hard stories of her past to keep sadness at bay. Lily makes a deal with the tiger to heal her grandmother by releasing those stories. What she comes to realize is that healing doesn’t mean health and that Halmoni is not the only one in need of the power of storytelling. Interesting supporting characters are fully developed but used sparingly to keep the focus on the simple yet suspenseful plot. Keller infuses this tale, which explores both the end of life and coming-of-age, with a sensitive examination of immigration issues and the complexity of home. It is at one and the same time completely American and thoroughly informed by Korean culture.
Longing—for connection, for family, for a voice—roars to life with just a touch of magic. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1570-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
Compulsively readable; morally uncomfortable.
Six New Jersey 12-year-olds separated by decades race to ensure the “good guys” win World War II in this middle-grade work by the author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and her brother, a children's author and journalist.
It all starts with a ham radio that Alice, Lawrence, and Artie fool around with in 1944 and Henry, Frances, and Lukas find in 2023. It’s late April, and the 1944 kids worry about loved ones in combat, while the 2023 kids study the war in school. When, impossibly, the radio allows the kids to communicate across time, it doesn’t take long before they share information that changes history. Can the two sets of kids work across a 79-year divide to prevent the U.S.A. from becoming the Nazi-controlled dystopia of Westfallen? This propulsive thriller includes well-paced cuts between times that keep the pages turning. Like most people in their small New Jersey town, Alice, Artie, and Frances are white. In 1944, Lawrence, who’s Black, endures bigotry; in the U.S.A. of 2023, Henry’s biracial (white and Black) identity and Lukas’ Jewish one are unremarkable, but in Westfallen, Henry’s a “mischling” doing “work-learning,” and Lukas is a menial laborer. Alice’s and Henry’s dual first-person narration zooms in on the adventure, but readers who pull back may find themselves deeply uneasy with the summary consideration paid to the real-life fates of European Jews and disabled people. The cliffhanger ending will have them hoping for more thoughtful treatment in sequels to come.
Compulsively readable; morally uncomfortable. (Science fiction/thriller. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 17, 2024
ISBN: 9781665950817
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2024
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