Wiseman has written widely on the social dynamics of teens, most notably in Queen Bees & Wannabes (2002). Here she fictionalizes the themes of her earlier works with the story of Charlie Healy, a ninth grader making a fresh start at the high school across town. Harmony Falls High might be a refuge from the frenemies she left behind in Greenspring, who made eighth grade so torturous, but it’s still fraught with peril: Bullies, clueless teachers and malevolent administrators abound. Controversy over the lacrosse team’s behavior off the field calls into question the ethics of the school, the players and Charlie’s childhood best friend, Will, who is enduring the ritual humiliations of joining the team. The story reads like a public-service announcement on the hazards of hazing; wise beyond her years, Charlie’s voice lacks adolescent authenticity, and her column in the school newspaper is preachy at times. But Charlie and her friends are outspoken and engaging, and the ending, while neither surprising nor original, will satisfy readers who like a tidy finish. (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-24796-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
A new student teacher and a young San Antonio high school football coach score “a touchdown for love” in this steamy but decorous romance. Before Kaylene Morales even reports to her supervising teacher, she manages to slop mop water over hunky coach Alex Garrison. The relationship develops from there (though it actually began ten years before, when Alex was her older brother’s classmate and she had a mad crush on him), into long phone conversations, dinners, passionate necking on the sofa, a falling out while Kaylene frets over Alex’s preoccupation with that “hard-hearted wench” football, and finally a climactic clinch and proposal. In the meantime, as Alex juggles his growing love with the heavy demands of Texas football, Kaylene throws out her dull lesson plans for innovative new ones, and endures mild challenges from her students. Romance fans and other tenderhearts will sigh over Bertrand’s mauve prose, no matter how unpolished it is. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Dec. 30, 1998
ISBN: 1-55885-245-X
Page Count: 146
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1998
From Cooney (The Voice on the Radio, 1996, etc.), a hard look at the tacit, unacknowledged racism that lurks beneath the surface of an affluent, supposedly enlightened community. Macey loves her Connecticut town. Her grandparents, Papa and Nana, provide a home for her during the frequent absences of her upwardly mobile parents; school and friends are great; and handsome Austin is taking a flattering interest in her. The only thing that worries her is the reaction she gets from everyone she asks about a mysterious fire in 1959 that destroyed a local barn, and a renovated apartment within it, where a black teacher lived. When Macey is assigned community service painting an inner- city church, she is paired with a parishioner, Venita, and they bond, immediately. That day, however, an arsonist sets fire to the church, and they and others are almost killed. Macey is shocked at the viciousness of the act, and more curious about the long-ago fire near her home. When Venita is killed trying to protect a little girl from a gang, Macey grieves and begins to question seriously the chasm of hate between blacks and whites. The truth about the 1959 fire, which was deliberately set and witnessed by those closest to her, nearly destroys her. This thought-provoking story has a powerful message, effortlessly woven into the ordinary trappings of a teenager’s life. Cooney allows for no cozy ending; as Macey faces what racism has done to her community, readers will question what it has done to theirs. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-385-32318-2
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1998
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