School violence revisited. In Todd Strasser’s Give a Boy a Gun (2000), the school-violence story was raw and powerful. Ron Koertge’s verse treatment, The Brimstone Journals (2001), kept the story innovative and fresh. Over 10 years later, Van Cleave’s debut novel in verse is a didactic rehashing with uninspiring poetry. Andy has already been bullied for the last six years, but his situation grows worse when he starts his freshman year at the same high school where his father works as a janitor. Noticing other losers, like “equal / opportunity / angry” Sue and bookworm Nicholas, the teen turns his attention to Blake, who has undergone a metamorphosis since losing his soldier dad in the Iraqi war. As rumors about STDs, alcohol and sexual orientation travel the corridors, nothing garners as much attention as the rumor that Blake is hiding a gun in his locker. To win favor with his crush, Becky Ann, Andy steals his father’s keys to open Blake’s locker and retrieve the gun. While he doesn’t find anything suspicious in the locker, he discovers that Blake does have a firearm and final plans for his classmates. At first, Andy’s knowledge and newfound friendship with Blake gives him “rebel courage,” but soon he realizes that he has a difficult decision to make as Blake’s date for destruction approaches. A concluding teacher’s guide confirms the intended use of this tired-feeling novel. (Fiction. 12-16)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8027-2186-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2011
Congolese-American Sophie makes a harrowing trek through a war-torn jungle to protect a young bonobo.
On her way to spend the summer at the bonobo sanctuary her mother runs, 14-year-old Sophie rescues a sickly baby bonobo from a trafficker. Though her Congolese mother is not pleased Sophie paid for the ape, she is proud that Sophie works to bond with Otto, the baby. A week before Sophie's to return home to her father in Miami, her mother must take advantage
of a charter flight to relocate some apes, and she leaves Sophie with Otto and the sanctuary workers. War breaks out, and after missing a U.N. flight out, Sophie must hide herself and Otto from violent militants and starving villagers. Unable to take Otto out of the country, she decides finding her mother hundreds of miles to the north is her only choice. Schrefer jumps from his usual teen suspense to craft this well-researched tale of jungle survival set during a fictional conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Realistic characters (ape and human) deal with disturbing situations described in graphic, but never gratuitous detail. The lessons Sophie learns about her childhood home, love and what it means to be endangered will resonate with readers.
Even if some hairbreadth escapes test credulity, this is a great next read for fans of our nearest ape cousins or survival adventure. (map, author's note, author Q&A) (Adventure. 12-16)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-16576-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
Best for nostalgic Scarry fans.
Culling from vintage Golden Books, this work repurposes Richard Scarry’s illustrations as life lessons.
Standing in for the humans whose roles they embody, genial animals engage in domestic chores, flounder through cheerfully chaotic adventures, and weather comical disasters. Members of a bunny family make breakfast, get dressed, and brush their teeth (“Greet the morning with joy!”), a warthog tackles bedhead, and an earthworm makes a bed. The art lightens the effect of many vague, imperative instructions (“Be helpful!”, “Save your money”), while the ensemble scenes of merrymaking and mayhem show Scarry at his best. Although the animal antics add interest to the bland, greeting-card platitudes (“Discover your own style,” “Appreciate beauty, and fill your life with art!”), some of the messaging feels contradictory. Two impeccably attired bunnies illustrate “Dress to impress!” Meanwhile, on a tropical beach, monkeys, jaguars, a crocodile, a toucan, a sloth, an ostrich, an anteater, and others “dance like no one is watching, even when they are.” Most of the selected art dates from the 1950s to the 1970s, and some of the messaging reflects the era. “Don’t be too hard on yourself” accompanies a dismayed, rotund pig on bathroom scales, bursting out of its pajamas, while slender animals on the facing page embody healthful exercise. (“Keep fit!”, “Have you tried yoga?”). The adult male-presenting figures often appear in active, public, or professional roles, while most of the adult female-presenting characters are caregivers or passive recipients of male attention.
Best for nostalgic Scarry fans. (Self-help. 12-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9798217125319
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Golden Books/Random
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
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