A superficial story that's mildly amusing but neither especially plausible nor deeply engaging.
Ruby, 12-year-old daughter of a major league pitcher and a popular model-turned–television star who are plagued by paparazzi, discovers her California “friends” want only to gain access to her famous parents.
She decides on a major life change and enrolls in a Maine boarding school, where she immediately, unthinkingly lies upon arrival, claiming to be an orphan. That makes her seem like a soul mate to Connor (who is an orphan), to whom she's attracted—as is vindictive classmate Cassandra. A highly talented designer and seamstress, Ruby wins a campus contest and is chosen to present a fashion show of her work during parents' weekend. Much rings improbable, at best, in this frothy tale, including Ruby's ability to quickly turn out an array of fashion-forward clothing that exactly fits her friends and her loving parents' complete ignorance of her skill. When Ruby pulls out her credit card and charges $300 of magazines at a local newsstand so classmates won't see her photo in them, she risks losing readers’ sympathy. While Ruby's young teen voice rings true, neither the Maine setting nor the other saccharine-sweet characters are infused with much life. Only stock-character Cassandra distinguishes herself, albeit negatively. Awaiting the predictable reveal of Ruby's secret is more irritating then suspenseful.
A superficial story that's mildly amusing but neither especially plausible nor deeply engaging. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3757-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Despite flaws, this is a book worth reading simply for its originality
A fantasy based in Caribbean folklore.
Corinne La Mer is a brave 11-year-old growing up on a Caribbean island. On All Hallow’s Eve, when a pair of troublemaking brothers tie her deceased mother’s prized necklace to a wild animal, Corinne chases the animal into the forest to retrieve it. However, this is no ordinary forest: It’s known for being the abode of “jumbies,” creatures “hidden in the shadows, always waiting for their moment to attack.” Though Corinne doesn’t believe in them, a jumbie follows her out of the forest. The third-person narration tells the back story—in bits and pieces—of this jumbie, who reveals herself to be Corinne’s mother’s sister. It’s never satisfactorily explained why Severine (as Corinne’s jumbie aunt calls herself) seeks out her niece, nearly a decade after her sister’s death. In order to fight Severine—who, sympathetically, only wants a family but is bent on turning humans to jumbies to get one—Corinne must rely not only on her own strength, but that of newfound friends. The novel is based on a Haitian folk tale, according to the author’s note, and it’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe. Baptiste never quite manages to control the story’s pacing, though, and certain elements in the ending feel arbitrary.
Despite flaws, this is a book worth reading simply for its originality . (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61620-414-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
Words and art combine to create a moving story.
Imagination and drawing help two grieving children in this illustrated novel by the creator of the popular Timmy Failure series and the comic strip “Pearls Before Swine.”
Things are not looking up for Saint (“I wasn’t named for a bearded guy in heaven. I was named for a football team in Louisiana”). Her favorite toy store is demolished, and her beloved diner closes. It’s all part of the gentrification for which she holds her single mother, who works long hours as a real estate agent and frequently breaks her promises, responsible. Saint very much likes reticent neighbor Daniel “Chance” McGibbons, who uses a cane, but first she has to win his friendship after an awkward beginning at his birthday party. When the uncle Chance lives with sells to developers, Saint’s determination to save his home penetrates Chance’s reserve. The kids’ subsequent shenanigans will delight readers. The story is generously illustrated with Pastis’ characteristic black-and-white cartoon line drawings, mostly of the two round-headed kids, whose hair and skin are as white as the page. Longtime neighborhood resident Old Lady Trifaldi helps Saint learn to cope with change by looking at the stars from her roof, “to make time go backward.” Pastis fills this deceptively simple first-person account with humor, puns, turns, and twists—and the final twist gives this friendship tale its surprising depth.
Words and art combine to create a moving story. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781665929622
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
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