Basing her dramatic first-person, present-tense narrative on historical accounts of a German-American girl who was an Indian captive for the nine years of the French and Indian War, Keehn has written a first novel that rivals Hudson's Sweetgrass (1989) in its compelling evocation of Native Americans in transition. After killing and scalping Regina's father and brother, Tiger Claws relentlessly persecutes her on the march from eastern Pennsylvania to his Ohio village. Regina's plucky sister is threatened with being burned alive before being taken away by another Indian; Regina's new ``sister'' is a child she carried on the grueling journey. After such a beginning, making the reasons for the white man's fear of the Indians palpably clear (without sensationalizing), it's a tribute to Keehn's skill that she makes Regina's ultimate sympathy for her captors entirely believable. Although Tiger Claws remains brutal and his mother Woelfin stern and unforgiving, Regina makes close friends among the other Indians and comes to understand the magnitude of their tragic losses and the whites' betrayals. Rescue, when it comes, is almost as bitter as captivity; unlike others of the 200 freed at the war's end, Regina loses neither husband nor child, but she's forced to abandon the aging Woelfin, for whom she has finally learned affection as well as responsibility, to certain death. In a poignant conclusion, Regina is among those reunited with their families; a historical afterword adds tantalizingly little. A profoundly moving evocation of a terrible experience mitigated by faith, courage, and humanity, told with simplicity, compassion and admirable restraint. Bibliography. (Fiction. 11+)
Pub Date: May 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-399-21797-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1991
Categories: TEEN FICTION
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This story is necessary. This story is important.
18
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Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter is a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds she exists in: one at Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school.
Walking the line between the two becomes immensely harder when Starr is present at the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a white police officer. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death becomes national news, where he’s called a thug and possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. The police’s lackadaisical attitude sparks anger and then protests in the community, turning it into a war zone. Questions remain about what happened in the moments leading to Khalil’s death, and the only witness is Starr, who must now decide what to say or do, if anything. Thomas cuts to the heart of the matter for Starr and for so many like her, laying bare the systemic racism that undergirds her world, and she does so honestly and inescapably, balancing heartbreak and humor. With smooth but powerful prose delivered in Starr’s natural, emphatic voice, finely nuanced characters, and intricate and realistic relationship dynamics, this novel will have readers rooting for Starr and opening their hearts to her friends and family.
This story is necessary. This story is important. (Fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-249853-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments.
25
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Lara Jean prepares for college and a wedding.
Korean-American Lara Jean is finally settled into a nice, complication-free relationship with her white boyfriend, Peter. But things don’t stay simple for long. When college acceptance letters roll in, Peter and Lara Jean discover they’re heading in different directions. As the two discuss the long-distance thing, Lara Jean’s widower father is making a major commitment: marrying the neighbor lady he’s been dating. The whirlwind of a wedding, college visits, prom, and the last few months of senior year provides an excellent backdrop for this final book about Lara Jean. The characters ping from event to event with emotions always at the forefront. Han further develops her cast, pushing them to new maturity and leaving few stones unturned. There’s only one problem here, and it’s what’s always held this series back from true greatness: Peter. Despite Han’s best efforts to flesh out Peter with abandonment issues and a crummy dad, he remains little more than a handsome jock. Frankly, Lara Jean and Peter may have cute teen chemistry, but Han's nuanced characterizations have often helped to subvert typical teen love-story tropes. This knowing subversion is frustratingly absent from the novel's denouement.
An emotionally engaging closer that fumbles in its final moments. (Romance. 14-17)Pub Date: May 2, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-3048-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN ROMANCE | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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