A thoughtful exploration of the soul-fulfilling heaviness of life in black urban communities.
The companion to So Done (2018) focuses its lens on the complicated friendship between Simp and Rollie as they strive to make their mark despite the threatening pressures of their surroundings.
Deontae “Simp” Wright and Roland “Rollie” Matthews came up together between the rec center and the basketball courts of their Pirates Cove neighborhood. It’s always been a breeze, kickin’ it and preparing to rep the Cove on its legendary basketball team, the Marauders. Except now, they realize how complicated it is playing for the ’Rauders, as Coach Tez also expects them to take up other responsibilities, like playing lookout for Tez’s investments in the local drug game. For Simp, this come-up represents where he needs to be, because he’s 13 and has to help take care of his brothers while his mother constantly works to stay afloat. On the other hand, Rollie feels torn between being there for his homeboy Simp and stepping away from the burdens of being a ’Rauder in favor of his growing obsession for playing the drums. What will he do when music teacher Mr. B presents him with an opportunity of a lifetime? As in her previous book, Chase displays her signature flair for conveying black youths’ language of intimacy even as she refuses the inaccurate yet popular theory that complex ethical entanglements cannot be engaged in middle-grade fiction.
A thoughtful exploration of the soul-fulfilling heaviness of life in black urban communities. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-269181-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love.
A 13-year-old biracial girl longs to build the house of her dreams.
For Lou Bulosan-Nelson, normal is her “gigantic extended family squished into Lola’s for every holiday imaginable.” She shares a bedroom with her Filipina mother, Minda—a former interior-design major and current nurse-to-be—in Lola Celina’s San Francisco home. From her deceased white father, Michael, Lou inherited “not-so-Filipino features,” his love for architecture, and some land. Lou’s quietude implies her keen eye for details, but her passion for creating with her hands resonates loudly. Pining for something to claim as her own, she plans to construct a house from the ground up. When her mom considers moving out of state for a potential job and Lou’s land is at risk of being auctioned off, Lou stays resilient, gathering support from both friends and family to make her dream a reality. Respicio authentically depicts the richness of Philippine culture, incorporating Filipino language, insights into Lou’s family history, and well-crafted descriptions of customs, such as the birdlike Tinikling dance and eating kamayan style (with one’s hands), throughout. Lou’s story gives voice to Filipino youth, addressing cultural differences, the importance of bayanihan (community), and the true meaning of home.
This delightful debut welcomes readers in like a house filled with love. (Fiction. 8-13)Pub Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1794-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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