A remarkable, deeply nuanced tale about growing up, even for readers who are already adults.
A debut coming-of-age novel, set on the Jersey Shore, follows a teenager who falls in love with a thief.
High-achieving Vivian is bemused rather than frightened when a fellow teen holds up the Dunkin’ Donuts where she works. A few days later, the handsome lad shows up on his motorcycle and they have their first date. Despite notable differences in their ambition levels (Vivian dreams of attending Princeton; Jake plans his next robbery, the sites chosen for the lack of nutrition they promote rather than material gain), the two share a sense of loss. Vivian’s beloved father died recently, and she and her Southern belle mother, Ivy, are clashing for the first time as they navigate their new reality. Jake’s alcoholic mother, Wendy, deserted him and his father, Sonny, to become a cocktail waitress in Atlantic City. Jake’s formidable anger and sense of abandonment—intensified by his diabetes—are palpable. Vivian is drawn to his vulnerability, but Ivy sees him merely as bad news. Vivian’s academic and musical perfection (she plays the clarinet) falter as she spends time with Jake, intensifying the disapproval of Vivian’s best friend, Hailey, and Ivy. Then a bad decision threatens Vivian’s future and her relationship with Jake. Hilton’s secondary players—Sonny, Wendy, Hailey, and Ivy—are just as complex and developed as the main characters. At one point, Sonny turns philosophical: “Wendy had once told him that a group of seagulls was called a flurry, and while Sonny wasn’t normally a person fascinated by words, this was an image he grew to appreciate. A flurry of snow that made it impossible to fly…A flurry of events that made it difficult to put one foot in front of the other.” The tale’s setting, primarily the Jersey Shore town of Belmar, is virtually a character itself, informing and infusing the protagonists in diverse ways. Vivian has no desire to return to her parents’ hometown of New Orleans, but Jersey-raised Hailey finds her spiritual base in the Deep South. Vivian and Jake’s love story may provide the foundation for this book, but it is more than a teen romance. While it is a coming-of-age story for the three teenagers, the parents also learn lessons about love and loss. Eloquently written, the novel transcends ordinary genres and is a work of literary fiction.
A remarkable, deeply nuanced tale about growing up, even for readers who are already adults.Pub Date: March 18, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5237-0153-7
Page Count: 276
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 10, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An effective translation of a series that gives eye-opening glimpses into the lives of the comfortable middle-class in...
A young woman ventures into the adult world in this vintage German novel.
Lehrer continues his ongoing annotated translation of Ury’s beloved prewar “Nesthäkchen” books with this English-language rendition of the sixth in that series, Nesthäkchen Fliegt aus dem Nest from 1921. In this latest installment, Annemarie Braun, the spoiled darling “Nesthäkchen” of her doctor father and his wife, turns 18 in a Germany still reeling from its catastrophic loss in World War I, although, as Lehrer rightly points out, the raw facts of history impinge very little on the mostly carefree events of this story. Those events center instead on Annemarie’s birthday celebration and her departure from home to attend college. This exit is naturally accompanied by a degree of worry on the part of Annemarie’s parents (“The ‘child’ will be defenseless alone in the big world,” they think. “What dangers lurked there at every step?”). But only a bubbly optimism prevails among Annemarie and her friends as they embark on what they see as some of their last free-spirited adventures before they’re encumbered with the duties and responsibilities of adulthood—including, for Annemarie, marriage and starting a family. The novel follows her to university and chronicles her various escapades—scheduling classes, making friends, taking the first breaths of independence—against Annemarie’s own high spirits and go-getter attitude. And as with the previous volumes, Lehrer does a steady, first-rate job of catching Ury’s frequent cultural allusions and in-jokes and explaining them in quick, unobtrusive footnotes: for example, “Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (15 November 1862-6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well.” Lehrer’s translation, smooth-flowing and easily approachable, brings readers into this series of proto-YA fiction set in the long-vanished world of a Germany before the horrors of World War II. The “Nesthäkchen” of these novels is the living embodiment of the purist, nationalistic sentimentality of that Germany.
An effective translation of a series that gives eye-opening glimpses into the lives of the comfortable middle-class in Germany between the world wars.Pub Date: Feb. 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5300-8463-0
Page Count: 276
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A rollicking series opener that will leave readers eager for more despite its characters’ occasionally befuddling behavior.
A teenager, his pet tiger, and his closest friends discover a magical new world in this YA fantasy adventure.
O’Flynn’s (Tell the Truth, 2015, etc.) novel, the first of a trilogy, introduces readers to Jim Wales, a member of a traveling circus troupe. Jim has rare powers that allow him to communicate telepathically with his pet tiger, Bak. When mysterious bandits attack the troupe’s caravan, Jim discovers that many things he thought he knew about his life were lies. It turns out that he isn’t from the “Modern World” at all but a parallel world known as Bellenor. What’s more, he’s one of Bellenor’s Scholars, who can manipulate energy using magic. His family and friends have worked to hide him from a villain, Eldred, who seeks to capture Bellenor’s magical power for himself. Guided by a mysterious falcon named Oona, Jim makes his way to the parallel world, accompanied by Bak; his girlfriend, Charlie; and his best friend, Sam. The friends find themselves in a dazzling medieval environment where they must outwit the evildoers pursuing them. Along the way, a band of small-statured creatures known as fagens robs them, which reroutes them to the Fairy World, where time moves at a dramatically different pace. When Jim and his friends finally arrive in Marren City, they confront a mystery involving Jim’s father, as a showdown with Eldred looms. O’Flynn’s novel brings an engaging, memorable world to life, full of intriguing mysteries and vividly realized settings. The main characters all stand out, though sometimes not for the right reasons. Jim, for example, seems disconcertingly blasé about the death of someone close to him until the novel’s climax. Charlie, meanwhile, comes across as a bit old-fashioned compared to strong, competent YA heroines of recent years; many of her scenes consist of her crying, fainting, or kissing. Still, the central trio is likable and engaging, and it’s refreshing to follow a group of heroes who haven’t quite matured into their powers.
A rollicking series opener that will leave readers eager for more despite its characters’ occasionally befuddling behavior.Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-692-31539-2
Page Count: 334
Publisher: BIGink Books
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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