“If your teacher has to die, August isn’t a bad time of year for it,” 15-year-old Russell Culver says, hoping the miracle of his teacher’s death will mean his one-room school will close. Unfortunately, his great big, looming sister Tansy fills the teacher vacancy, and nothing—not a fire in the boys’ privy, an adder in her desk, an exploding stove, or a fat lady stuck in a ditch—will deter her from bringing her charges to “the trough of education.” It’s 1904, and as Tansy sets about transforming the students, modern technology is transforming America. Motorcars, telephones, all-steel threshing machines, Edison Victrolas, and the Monkey Ward catalogue all figure in this story that richly evokes a time and place. Tansy, akin to Grandma Dowdel in A Year Down Yonder (2000) and A Long Way from Chicago (1998), is the elder who makes Russell grow up, able to go out into the world and seek his fortune. Laugh-out-loud scenes beg to be read aloud in this masterfully crafted ode to a strong teacher and a bygone era. (Fiction. 10+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-8037-2736-4
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Despite the differing perspectives, though, it’s never more than a superficial exploration of the differences between...
Seventh-grade fraternal twins Owen and Russell are as different as night and day, and that spells trouble when both of them make the basketball team.
Owen is the quintessential jock: He plays basketball nearly all the time, and when he isn't playing, he's thinking about it. Russell, more concerned with academics, serves as leader of his school's Masters of the Mind team, a group that competes against other schools to solve tough mental puzzles. He's generally regarded as physically inept. Russell and Owen don't understand each other's worlds, but previously, it hardly seemed to matter. Then the new coach asks Russell to try out for the team because he's tall, and with that height comes a surprisingly satisfying skill in blocking shots. Owen, no longer the sole star athlete in his family, becomes increasingly jealous as his father, who once more or less ignored Russell, begins to focus on both sons. Chapters alternate between the brothers’ first-person accounts, providing readers with a nice look at their diametrically opposed thinking. Russell's chapters are amusing, as he discovers unexpected talents and abilities. Owen comes across as much less attractive; readers may be surprised by the level of his anger and his childish behavior.
Despite the differing perspectives, though, it’s never more than a superficial exploration of the differences between brothers, enlivened by welcome infusions of basketball. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-59990-915-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
Award-winning Chilean author and poet Agosín’s debut for young people is a lyrically ambitious tale of exile and...
With a loving and financially secure family and a close group of friends, 11-year-old Celeste’s life in Valparaíso, Chile, is relatively carefree—until the coup that unseats the president and establishes a dictatorship.
People begin to be disappeared. Her parents, both doctors running a clinic for the poor, are now subversives who must go into hiding in order to keep themselves and Celeste safe. As the situation worsens, Celeste herself must leave her homeland to stay with her aunt in faraway Maine. She spends three years in this cold and solitary land. As she finally begins to fit in, the time comes to return home. She finds her country different, filled with the fog of sadness. But she also finds opportunities: to reconnect, rebuild and forgive. Though the size and scope of this novel may appear daunting, the beautiful language, compelling characters and short chapters make it a captivating read. For some, the extensive denouement may go on a touch too long, but most will be pleased to have a little extra time with Celeste as she and her community rebuild their lives in a new Chile.
Award-winning Chilean author and poet Agosín’s debut for young people is a lyrically ambitious tale of exile and reunification. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5344-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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