Fourteen-year-old Mike is about to take what might become the winning shot for his travel basketball team when he reflects...
A teen with epilepsy has fantastic basketball skills, honed by years of relentless practice, but still struggles frequently with his condition.
Fourteen-year-old Mike is about to take what might become the winning shot for his travel basketball team when he reflects back on his 12 years of living with epilepsy. His path to success has veered around roadblocks: seizures that aren’t fully controlled by his medicines, bullying at school and prejudice on the part of his coach and a few other adults. With knowledgeable parents, a good doctor and a wise counselor, he’s doing well; this aspect rings true, since one of the authors, Simmel, has had epilepsy since early childhood and is also a member of the Harlem Wizards, a performing basketball team. Stock characters and heavy-handed asides reinforce the helpful message to readers but often intrude on the storytelling unnecessarily: “His mom also reminded him that it’s normal to be embarrassed or upset if kids didn’t understand his epilepsy.” This weakness diminishes the novel’s potential to reach a broad audience. A lengthy afterward provides a wealth of accurate and useful information for patients and their families.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1043-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
A witty story about feeling good in your own skin that rings true emotionally.
A humorous coming-of-age novel with zits, separated parents, complicated friendships, and therapy dogs.
What does a volcano have in common with a pepperoni pizza? They both describe ways that 13-year-old Ellis Starr views her acne-prone skin, which she grades as being on the 99th percentile of the Acne Scale of Doom. Life gets more complicated when her zits swell together in fiery red blotches and the eighth grade capstone project looms over her head. Ellis likes to collect random scientific facts but can’t land on a subject that’s exciting enough. She feels like no one is really listening to her, including her parents (who can’t afford to divorce) and her best friend, Aggy (who has beautiful blemish-free skin). The stressors keep piling up, and the fiery red blemishes proliferate despite home remedies like toothpaste and special soap. When Ellis realizes that hanging out with Rocco, her Aunt Lydia’s golden retriever, helps her de-stress, she lands on her capstone subject—therapy dogs—and connects with her empathetic aunt, who serves as an insightful guide. Wyman authentically portrays multidimensional teens and adults, expertly pacing the intergenerational interactions among characters who care for each other but sometimes need to learn to listen to different perspectives. Ellis is white, and Aggy is of Indian and German descent.
A witty story about feeling good in your own skin that rings true emotionally. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780374393359
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
This hopeful adventure leaves an indelible mark.
A rare disorder elicits fear in a young Black artist with a unique sense of the world.
Seventh grader Etta’s Quiet Days are becoming more frequent and, frankly, irritating since her “maybe-diagnosis” of Ménière’s disease in both her ears. Her parents are monitoring her diet, vigilant about stressors, and learning ASL. In contrast to Etta’s Loud Days, not being able to hear sometimes makes it easier to focus on her comic book about Invincible Girl (the novel includes some enticing panels featuring Etta’s work). But, as peculiar weather patterns begin to overwhelm her Chicago neighborhood and exacerbate her allergies, the corresponding tinnitus and vertigo as well as the increased anxiety from everyone around her leave Etta feeling hopeless. Even meeting Eleazar, an artsy new Colombian friend with an adorable goldendoodle, leads to doubts about her abilities to communicate—Eleazar is also still learning English—and her future with Ménière’s. When Eleazar’s dog gets lost on a magical train that is linked to the weird weather, the two must traverse the train cars, solve mysteries, and overcome their fears to fix what’s broken and heal what can’t be fixed. Just like the magical challenges, their journey yields great emotional rewards. Even as Etta and Eleazar make new connections, losses—of family, hearing, and home—are somber reminders of life’s challenges. With snappy narration that’s rich in sensory detail and metaphor, readers progress through well-paced storytelling that is ethereal and artfully inclusive.
This hopeful adventure leaves an indelible mark. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6837-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
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