Though it bathes the past in a rose-colored light, this novel delivers a lively glimpse of supposedly simpler times.
Vetter (Poo Skadoo, 2015, etc.) offers a nostalgic look at two Iowa friends in her latest work of YA historical fiction.
Tomboy Kate experiences a childhood that is now the stuff of memory or legend. Spending her formative years in rural Iowa in the 1950s, Kate possesses freedoms and responsibilities few children can understand today. She braves the chicken coop to collect eggs, hauls drinking water to school, and helps to milk cows (“At our farm, milking was a family activity. We all walked the quarter mile to the barn, and we all had supporting roles: hay to throw, corn to carry, cows to chain, cats and flies to shoo, tails to hold, udders to empty”). Kate and her friend Sharley walk barefoot in the summer, spin on tire swings, agonize over penny candy, and play horseshoes. Kate’s world is small, comfortable, and enchanting. Sharley, an adventurous child, revels in spontaneity. She pushes Kate, serving as both a partner and a foil in her quest to live life to the fullest. But childhood does not ensure immunity against pain and fear. Sharley becomes ill and dies young, leaving a sense of sorrow at a life unfinished. Vetter’s short tale is a work of fiction, though she states early on that many parts of the story are largely “grounded in the truth.” Her folksy anecdotes are delightfully nuanced, bringing to life the culture of a ’50s Midwestern family. Some scenes read like a screenplay; farm wives hop in parked cars on trips to town, delighted to catch up on gossip, while children race in and out of the dime store blowing bubbles and men trade stories over beer. Yet Vetter’s wonderfully descriptive vignettes lack a connecting thread, tension, or narrative direction to tie all the sweet, and often funny, stories together. Sharley’s fate is not a surprise; it is mentioned on the book’s first page. But her sickness comes on abruptly in the volume’s final pages, without the foreshadowing that would have lent a bittersweet quality and depth to the glimpses of daily life the reader has seen. Sharley’s death remains a tragedy, and fully fleshing out its impact would have strengthened the story.
Though it bathes the past in a rose-colored light, this novel delivers a lively glimpse of supposedly simpler times.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5043-4979-6
Page Count: 108
Publisher: BalboaPress
Review Posted Online: April 29, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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