Captivating and cathartic.
Unbeknownst to Charles, his dragon’s wish will alter his intersecting worlds of fantasy and reality.
Charles’ life is shaped by stories. Daydreaming serves as the Black 11-year-old’s escape to the “inside” place he calls his Sanctuary as he navigates dyslexia and tries to cope with being bullied at school. Many adults in his life overlook his extraordinary artistic abilities and perceive him as misbehaving or lazy. Fortunately, Charles has an ally in Mr. Glory Miles, the super at the Beatrix, the apartment building where he and his mom live. Other people, those who don’t know about dragons, see Mr. Miles as “an angry old man”—but Charles knows that he’s his dragon. Glory reveals the history of the dream folk, who “were survivors of the Great Dream before Time” back in Africa when “some people could fly.” When abusive father Mr. Calixte and his son, Junior—trolls disguised as people from Haiti—move into the Beatrix, they spark unease and tensions. Some people get sick, and others go missing. Charles feels compelled to help Junior, despite Mr. Miles’ warnings to stay away from the trolls, and he embarks on a quest with his two imaginary best friends, Ruby and Fig. Pivoting between escapism and reality, this creative debut features strong character development in its exploration of the ways Charles copes with multiple challenges that will resonate with many readers.
Captivating and cathartic. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593572450
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Review Posted Online: May 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2024
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
BOOK TO SCREEN
A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport.
An African American preteen finds his world upended when his father, a retired professional football player, displays symptoms of traumatic brain injury.
Twelve-year-old Zachariah “ZJ” Johnson Jr. loves his dad but wonders who he would be if his dad was not a famous athlete. Although his dad is in the spotlight, he is full of love and attention for ZJ and his friends. And fortunately, ZJ has three friends who see him and not his father’s shadow. “Zachariah 44” was a fearless player who suffered many concussions during his playing career. The changes in his father begin slowly and intermittently. Soon the headaches and memory lapses grow increasingly frequent and scary for ZJ and his mom, since the doctors do not seem to have any answers. As his dad slips further away, ZJ’s memories of better times grow closer than ever. Using spare and lyrical language for ZJ’s present-tense narration, which moves back and forth through time, Woodson skillfully portrays the confusion, fear, and sadness when a family member suffers from brain injury and the personality changes it brings. Readers see Zachariah Sr. through ZJ’s eyes and agonize with him as the strong, vibrant athlete begins to fade. The well-rounded secondary characters complete a mosaic of a loving African American family and their community of friends. The tale is set in the early 2000s, as awareness of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and its catastrophic consequences was beginning to emerge.
A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-399-54543-6
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
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