A reassuring story of a teen learning to overcome his difficulties with a learning disability.
A teenager with undiagnosed dyslexia finds hope when a strict teacher takes notice of him in Thompson’s YA novel.
Tenth grader Collin Quinn has always found reading difficult. “The thing I hate most is when people think I’m lazy. They don’t know how hard it is for me just to read one page,” he laments. On the first day of school (and his second year of 10th grade), he meets Mr. Hansen, a stern World History teacher who has a set way of doing things; Collin dislikes him immediately. Mr. Hansen has a lot of rules, and he also likes to randomly call on students from a jar of names on his desk. When Collin is picked to read from the board, he’s able to stall until the bell rings, but on the way out, he steals Mr. Hansen’s laptop and dumps it into a bathroom trash can. This ends up being a blessing in disguise: The rebellious act prompts Mr. Hansen and the dean of the school to realize that Collin has trouble reading. He’s placed into an after-school program where he learns he has dyslexia and is finally given the tools he needs to start succeeding. The easy-to-read, well-paced story’s text is formatted in OpenDyslexic Mono, a font that’s designed for people with dyslexia to make reading easier. There are a few resources Collin learns about that some readers might find helpful in their daily lives, including a browser extension that converts text on websites into OpenDyslexic and an app that converts text to speech. Collin’s problems feel relatable and real; his path to success isn’t a straight line, but it offers struggling readers encouragement the whole way through.
A reassuring story of a teen learning to overcome his difficulties with a learning disability.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2023
ISBN: 9798989065707
Page Count: 119
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 27, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution.
A teenage girl finds herself alone after everyone else in her town mysteriously disappears, leaving her scrambling to figure out how to find them all.
One late summer day, everybody in July Fielding’s town disappears. She is left to piece together what happened, following a series of cryptic signs she finds around town urging her to “GET THEM BACK.” The narrative moves back and forth between July’s present and the events of the summer before, when her relationship with her best friend, cross-country team co-captain Sydney, starts to fracture due to a combination of jealousy over July’s new relationship with a cute boy called Sam and sweet up-and-coming freshman Ella’s threatening to overtake Syd’s status as star of the track team. The team members participate in a ritual in which they jump off a cliff into the rocky waters below at the end of their Friday practice runs. Though Ella is reluctant, Syd pressures her to jump. Short, frenetically paced sections move the story along quickly, and there is much foreshadowing pointing to something terrible that occurred at the end of that summer, which may be the key to July’s current predicament, but there is much misdirection too. Ultimately this is a story without enough setup to make the turn the book takes in the end feel fully developed or earned. All characters read white.
A high-concept premise that falls short in its execution. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780593327173
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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