Football forms the backbone, but music courses through the veins of a dynamic but thoughtful novel of self-discovery
First-generation rich boy Jack is shipped off to prestigious Oakhurst Hall, where he makes varsity football as a walk-on, molds potheads into a recording-worthy band, wows teachers with his insightful writing and meets the intriguing Caroline—but Jack’s a teen, so there’s plenty of angst and self-analysis, too.
Even with mom long-gone to do “good work” in Guatemala (apparently unconcerned about “the work she hasn’t finished” in raising her son), a father obsessed with work, a kind but inexperienced stepmother, and little home support for his loves of music and running, Jack knows he has more going for him than most. But he’s still a teen away from home facing life-altering decisions: bulk up through weightlifting alone, or try steroids? Go with Dad’s “try harder than the people on each side of you” competitive advice or his coach’s “[you’re] playing for the men on each side of you” message? Buck school tradition, or go along to get along? The compressed time frame (football season) and deep bench of characters necessitate skimming over profound development, but the pace is fast and the writing clean, entertaining and candid. An appealing mix of teen confusion and potential, Jack’s greatest threat is his ’roid-raging teammates’ late hits, but a happy outcome is never really in doubt.
Football forms the backbone, but music courses through the veins of a dynamic but thoughtful novel of self-discovery .(Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25055-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2014
Without that frame, this would have been a fine addition to the wacked-out summer-camp subgenre.
Survival camp? How can you not have bad feelings about that?
Sixteen-year-old nerd (or geek, but not dork) Henry Lambert has no desire to go to Strongwoods Survival Camp. His father thinks it might help Henry man up and free him of some of his odd phobias. Randy, Henry’s best friend since kindergarten, is excited at the prospect of going thanks to the camp’s promotional YouTube video, so Henry relents. When they arrive at the shabby camp in the middle of nowhere and meet the possibly insane counselor (and only staff member), Max, Henry’s bad feelings multiply. Max tries to train his five campers with a combination of carrot and stick, but the boys are not athletes, let alone survivalists. When a trio of gangsters drops in on the camp Games to try to collect the debt owed by the owner, the boys suddenly have to put their skills to the test. Too bad they don’t have any—at all. Strand’s summer-camp farce is peopled with sarcastic losers who’re chatty and wry. It’s often funny, and the gags turn in unexpected directions and would do Saturday Night Live skits proud. However, the story’s flow is hampered by an unnecessary and completely unfunny frame that takes place during the premier of the movie the boys make of their experience. The repeated intrusions bring the narrative to a screeching halt.
Without that frame, this would have been a fine addition to the wacked-out summer-camp subgenre. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4022-8455-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sweet yet thinly developed narrative.
Sylvie Jones is on her way to the Brindille School of Culinary Arts & Magic in this YA debut by a former Top Chef contestant.
Due to her mother’s alleged cheating years ago at the famed Golden Whisk—the biggest magical cooking competition around—Sylvie has been admitted only provisionally into Brindille’s six-week preparatory program. The Council of Culinary Sages has tasked her with proving her trustworthiness and talent by finishing first in her class. If Sylvie succeeds, she’ll be officially allowed to take the enrollment test. If she fails, she’ll be banned from “cooking up magic” altogether. Right before Sylvie arrives at Brindille, a mysterious stranger informs her that she’s part of a decades-old prophecy—her name is even written upon the Apple of Discord, a carefully guarded magical treasure borne by “a secret tree that only produce[s] fruit in times of great danger.” Now Sylvie is even more determined to succeed and clear her family’s name. While the overarching plot might hold the attention of ardent fans of magic school stories, the execution falls flat. Experienced genre readers will be disappointed to find that the narrative lacks depth and relies on cliched idioms and tired wordplay, and the culinary elements of the magical world are in need of more robust worldbuilding. Sylvie is cued white, and there’s diversity among the supporting characters.
A sweet yet thinly developed narrative. (recipes) (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9798890033635
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
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