by Risa Nyman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 21, 2020
Sensational tween characters propel this lighthearted but sentimental tale.
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In Nyman’s middle-grade debut novel, a 12-year-old boy who hears the voice of his late father tries to unravel the mystery of his dad’s death.
After losing his father, Ronald “Rocky” Casson Jr. and his mother leave Whitman, Massachusetts, for Milton. His new town is in the same state and relatively close, but Rocky still has to leave his friends. Having moved during a school year, he suffers new-kid woes, like becoming an easy target for Max the bully. But he quickly finds a friend in Olive, who tutors him in geography. Rocky’s primary worry involves his dad; after overhearing one of this mother’s conversations, he believes she lied to him about how his father died when she claimed his dad’s heart merely stopped. She also doesn’t want Rocky visiting Whitman, even to sign up for the summer soccer clinic there, and hasn’t given him a satisfying explanation for why he has to avoid the town. His father’s voice, however, which suddenly and regularly pops up in his head, tells him that answers lie in Whitman. Rocky ultimately confides in Olive, who concocts clever plans, including a way to sneak a peek at his file in the school counselor’s office. But after Rocky finally decides to return to his hometown, he braves a two-hour bike ride that will prove arduous and, Olive fears, dangerous as well. Nyman’s engaging tale features two immensely likable characters in Rocky and Olive. Though headstrong, savvy Olive is the standout, Rocky is a relatable protagonist, as his occasional peevishness is understandable. With Rocky’s goal established early, the story moves at a steady clip. Even a subplot (involving a camping trip with his uncle that leads to an emergency) neither feels extraneous nor decelerates the pace. In his charming first-person narrative, Rocky effortlessly drops quotable passages: “Monday mornings wouldn’t be such a drag if school started on Tuesdays.” Meanwhile, the father’s voice, though he insists he’s no ghost, is largely open to interpretation. And though most readers will decipher what Rocky’s mom is hiding from him, the ending is dramatically satisfying.
Sensational tween characters propel this lighthearted but sentimental tale.Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73438-661-5
Page Count: 198
Publisher: Immortal Works Press
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Risa Nyman
by Christina Li ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 12, 2021
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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by Christina Li
by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Mónica Armiño ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2019
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey.
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Kirbi Fagan
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by Rosanne Parry ; illustrated by Niki Stage
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by Rosanne Parry illustrated by Lindsay Moore
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