by Rick Book ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 31, 1999
Work, sports, making out, and breaking up: in seven linked stories set in 1965 a Saskatchewan teenager spins vividly personal takes on universal themes of adolescence, adding no fewer than three brushes with death to make the pleasures and pains of life all the more intense. It’s an eventful year for Eric, beginning with a first official date (“The Clodhopper’s Halloween Ball”), ending with his beloved grandfather’s funeral (“Saying Good-Bye to the Tall Man”); in between he nearly dies in a sudden blizzard (“Sun Dogs”), fishes a suicide out of “The River,” plays in a thrilling, hard-fought hockey game, discovers the pleasures of passionate lip-locking in the title story, and becomes conscious of the world outside his own narrow experience during “The Summer I Read Gone With The Wind.” Book’s observant young narrator tells each tale with laconic, sparkling wit (“Louise smiled and red lipstick filled the porch doorway and painted out the rest of the family”). Readers will come to know—and like—Eric and admire the way he rises to every occasion. (Short stories. 12-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-88995-194-2
Page Count: 151
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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by David Shannon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1999
The poster boy for relentless mischief-makers everywhere, first encountered in No, David! (1998), gives his weary mother a rest by going to school. Naturally, he’s tardy, and that’s but the first in a long string of offenses—“Sit down, David! Keep your hands to yourself! PAY ATTENTION!”—that culminates in an afterschool stint. Children will, of course, recognize every line of the text and every one of David’s moves, and although he doesn’t exhibit the larger- than-life quality that made him a tall-tale anti-hero in his first appearance, his round-headed, gap-toothed enthusiasm is still endearing. For all his disruptive behavior, he shows not a trace of malice, and it’ll be easy for readers to want to encourage his further exploits. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-590-48087-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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by Beverly Cleary ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 1999
Ramona returns (Ramona Forever, 1988, etc.), and she’s as feisty as ever, now nine-going-on-ten (or “zeroteen,” as she calls it). Her older sister Beezus is in high school, baby-sitting, getting her ears pierced, and going to her first dance, and now they have a younger baby sister, Roberta. Cleary picks up on all the details of fourth grade, from comparing hand calluses to the distribution of little plastic combs by the school photographer. This year Ramona is trying to improve her spelling, and Cleary is especially deft at limning the emotional nuances as Ramona fails and succeeds, goes from sad to happy, and from hurt to proud. The grand finale is Ramona’s birthday party in the park, complete with a cake frosted in whipped cream. Despite a brief mention of nose piercing, Cleary’s writing still reflects a secure middle-class family and untroubled school life, untouched by the classroom violence or the broken families of the 1990s. While her book doesn’t match what’s in the newspapers, it’s a timeless, serene alternative for children, especially those with less than happy realities. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16816-7
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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