by Rob Buyea ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 9, 2022
Explores changes that come with the transition to middle school but is marred by stereotyping.
While forging their own identities, brother and sister twins uncover family secrets.
With names that are nods to country music icons, twins Loretta and Waylon will be starting middle school in the fall and for the first time attending separate classes. They both have plans for the summer: Movie enthusiast Loretta, perpetual protector of her smaller-sized brother, plans to toughen him up; survival-story fan Waylon wants to prove he can defend himself. The siblings narrate in alternating chapters, addressing readers directly at times, and their stories blend when they stumble upon a clearing in the woods that they name the Circle of Stones. After meeting home-schooled Louie, whose mother is deemed “crazy” by the locals, Loretta and Waylon reference Indigenous coming-of-age ceremonies and include Louie in a series of their own rituals. These are meant to honor Forest Spirits, their name for what they believe are the spirits of unspecified people who explored these woods long ago. These invented ceremonies, along with mentions of such cultural elements as dream catchers, wigwams, and counting coup, recur in the narrative in ways that evoke exoticizing stereotypes of Native peoples. While conducting these rituals, Loretta and Waylon discover family connections and begin to understand the mental health issues that trouble Louie’s mother. Additional storylines involving school bullies and first crushes converge in a trite conclusion. Main characters read as White.
Explores changes that come with the transition to middle school but is marred by stereotyping. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37614-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2022
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by Raina Telgemeier ; illustrated by Raina Telgemeier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2016
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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by Katherine Applegate ; illustrated by Patricia Castelao ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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