Built as solidly as the “legendary stone culverts” that tunnel through the landscape of Granite Creek; an engaging twist on...
In a rustic New Hampshire town, a young mother and a disabled Iraq War veteran spark an affair that leads to an unconventional whodunit.
As her 30th birthday—and the heated Obama–McCain election—approaches, Dakota “Koty” Fowler despairs over her 12-year marriage to Wayne, “an alcoholic...from the worst family [Granite Creek] has ever seen.” It wasn’t always this way: They loved each other very much until Wayne’s brother, Carl, was murdered, transforming Wayne into a withdrawn and abusive husband. Their three daughters, Rosie, Iris and Daisy, provide some relief from Koty’s stifling day-to-day routine, but it isn’t until Wayne recruits Koty to serve as a “charity babysitter” for Jamie Briggs, a 26-year-old who lost both arms and both legs to an IED in Fallujah, that Koty finds happiness. Over the course of a few weeks of “afternoon delight,” Jamie challenges Koty to stand up to Wayne, while Koty inspires Jamie to stand and eventually function in society again. Within three months, everyone’s lives are upended by a startling series of events. Told in two parts, through the voices of seven characters in search of closure, Bradley (Forgotten April, 2011) takes the reader for a swift ride on the billows of memory, flashing back and forth in time. “We don’t have the power to empty our heads of bad memories,” says one narrator. “Only the memories themselves can decide when enough is enough.” When Koty narrates, alternating between a grown-up voice and her younger, more hopeful one, the book is most memorable, full of witty asides and insights into the ironies of American culture, especially its collective obsession with “guns and gays.” As the mystery unfolds and multiple narrators (some more convincing than others) take over, the book threatens to become overwhelmed by exposition, a case of suspicious amnesia, a bungling detective, a convenient serial killer, clever red herrings, false admissions of guilt and a few questionable twists of fate. Satisfyingly, however, Bradley leaves no loose ends untied. Better yet, just when the reader thinks all has been solved, she throws a last-minute confession into the mix like a grenade.
Built as solidly as the “legendary stone culverts” that tunnel through the landscape of Granite Creek; an engaging twist on the suburban-housewife mystery.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-1466429550
Page Count: 362
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2012
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
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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