In Warner’s (Accidental Lily, 1999, etc.) lighthearted read, a 12-year-old girl finds a clever way to earn some extra money while helping her and her friends deal with worrisome pre-teen issues. When her ad in the local paper for a “professional listener” starts to get responses, Mary McQuinn Todd, or Quinny, finds that her summer job is not as easy as she had thought. She soon finds herself with an ethical dilemma on her hands. Marguerite, one of her best friends, is veering toward trouble. Marguerite has always been the antithesis of Quinny, but now Marguerite seems to be growing up too fast. The tension reaches a boiling point when, through her listening job, Quinny learns that Marguerite may be in considerable danger. She finds a solution that not only saves Marguerite, but also allows Quinny to keep her promise of confidentiality. To further add strain to Quinny’s life, she is becoming distant from those she loves. She feels like the fifth wheel in a family where her younger twin brothers form their own unit, and her parents, after 17 years of marriage, are still absolutely smitten with each other. The plot is both unique and appealing. Quinny and her friends are depicted as modern young teens with contemporary issues. The tone is not grim but bolstering and could influence readers to follow the example of using intellect, creativity, and discussion when faced with vexing situations. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: June 30, 2000
ISBN: 0-06-028261-4
Page Count: 160
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Soup and pasta, that is. The preparation of the two dinners forms the structure for this loose little treatment in which 12-year-old Rosie works out her changing relationship with Bailey, the proverbial boy-next-door. The reader meets Rosie and her Granny as they slice and chop, Granny’s penetrating questions and stories of her youth leading narrator Rosie to reflect in short vignettes on her lifelong friendship and on her current pre-adolescent difficulties. The scenario is repeated the following week, only now Bailey himself becomes part of the cooking crew, clearly benefiting as much from Granny’s well-timed pauses as Rosie. Rosie’s present-tense voice is fresh and young, with an ingenuous turn of phrase. The structure mitigates significant plot development, however: readers are presented with a situation—Bailey and Rosie redefine their childhood friendship—which is resolved ever-so-neatly, thanks to Granny’s remarkably parallel stories and a few pinches of garlic. Full of good humor and aromatic seasonings, this offering nevertheless may not stick to the ribs. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-06-029290-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2003
Oozing with fun.
The new kid in town finds himself caught up in a slime-selling battle.
Twelve-year-old Alex Manalo is passionate about two things: slime and business. So when he and his dad (his mother has died) move from Silicon Valley to Sacramento to take over his grandparents’ struggling Filipino market, he is excited that they’ll have their own business. Being the new kid isn’t easy, and while Alex isn’t sporty or tall like the popular kids at his old school, he soon discovers that his new middle school is big on slime. Alex makes all kinds of slime with different ingredients, textures, and smells, garnering the attention of his classmates. A new friend convinces him to sell his slime, but that spurs a slime war with the girl who holds the slime monopoly at school. It isn’t going to be easy, especially when his dad thinks slime is a waste of time and that Alex should be playing soccer. With his hands in many different activities, Alex fights to win sticky battles with his family, new friends, and himself. Respicio has written an exciting, fast-paced story of friendship, family, and community. Throughout the book, Alex often struggles to make his opinions heard, but he eventually finds his voice and understands what it really means to be a winner. Alex and his family are Filipino; there is diversity in the supporting cast. The book includes different slime recipes.
Oozing with fun. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30267-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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