Though Jette’s debut emphasizes compromise, faith, and acceptance, the ill-explained “magical disability” trope muddles the...
Aided by magic, 12-year-old Isabelle Perez learns that her nonverbal, severely disabled brother is capable of more than her family thinks.
Narrator Isabelle is determined that her older brother, Julian, who suffers from chronic seizures, will help her demonstrate her wind project at the school science fair. But everything changes after a severe seizure: Isabelle is welcomed into Las Brisas, a magical world Julian enters every night. There, Julian is physically perfect, but he reminds Isabelle that, even at home and disabled, he is still himself. In Las Brisas, the siblings share everything real life prohibits: visiting beautiful but inaccessible places, playing sports, and talking—especially about Julian’s condition and Isabelle’s realistic feelings of neglect. When Julian’s medication dampens his real-life pleasures, Isabelle must find a way to show her loving but fearful parents that nurturing Julian’s capabilities is as vital as controlling his seizures. Though Isabelle rejects the “brave nondisabled sibling” label and frequently reminds her family of Julian’s abilities, Julian nevertheless reads like a plot device. His family members—each characterized by a wacky quirk or “special gift”—ache and grow because of him. Isabelle’s promising visions of Julian’s future, courtesy of Las Brisas, hint at his possible development, but Julian in the present remains flat, merely reflecting Isabelle’s gift for “seeing possibilities.” Occasional Spanish words (selectively italicized) and Mexican food lend flavor to the family’s Mexican-American identity.
Though Jette’s debut emphasizes compromise, faith, and acceptance, the ill-explained “magical disability” trope muddles the message . (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-944762-41-4
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Islandport Press
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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