Both inspiring and useful for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t belong.
In a world where everyone else seems to know how to get along, Sparrow Cooke, an eighth-grade black girl in Brooklyn, finds solace in flying like a bird whenever she’s uncomfortable, until the day comes when that’s no longer an option.
When Sparrow is found on a rooftop, everyone assumes it’s a suicide attempt, and she’s suddenly thrust into the experience of hospitals, therapy, and a mom who doesn’t understand. But Sparrow wasn’t trying to kill herself. She was escaping her feelings of awkwardness by imagining she was high in the sky, soaring with a flock of birds. This is her main coping mechanism for dealing with her friendlessness and the death of one of her trusted adults, the librarian Mrs. Wexler. Can she learn how to stay on Earth and deal with the things that scare her? An extremely diverse cast of characters, including people of different races, gender, and sexual orientation, drives the strong, delicate narrative of Moon’s debut novel. Sparrow deals with different emotional issues against a backdrop of lyrical language and touching images, with a healthy dose of musical connections that beg to be added to a playlist and a bibliography of favorite books that is as consciously diverse as the cast. Sparrow is a character to learn from.
Both inspiring and useful for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t belong. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-03258-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Still, humorous dialogue and harrowing escapes will keep action-oriented readers mostly entertained. (Supernatural action....
Wisecracks, gadgets and fast-paced action sequences abound in the second book about Alex Van Helsing, a 14-year-old boy with a supernatural gift for sensing evil.
The evil, in this case, is old-fashioned malevolent vampires, headquartered in the Scholomance, “a school and a research facility and a massive organization all rolled into one,” hidden under Lake Geneva. Nearby are Alex's all-boys' boarding school, Glenarvon Academy, and a central office of the Polidorium, an international vampire-fighting agency with which Alex is slowly becoming involved. Action is the main focus here, and Alex's two vampire nemeses pose constant threats. Elle, who menaced Alex and his friends in book one, toys with Alex with the elaborateness (and propensity for being foiled at the last minute) of a Bond villain. Ultravox, the new bad guy, is subtler: His genuinely unsettling powers of persuasion can convince humans to attack others or to harm themselves. Astute readers will figure out the vampires' secret M.O. and notice traps before Alex does, and a few references, like a Polidorium agent's horror that Alex hasn't heard of New Wave music, seem thrown in for adults.
Still, humorous dialogue and harrowing escapes will keep action-oriented readers mostly entertained. (Supernatural action. 12-14)Pub Date: July 26, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-195101-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
John is Number Four, the next alien teen in line to be killed by the vile Mogadorians. A charm dictates that John and the...
The James Frey assembly-line approach to teen lit has generated another boomfest.
John is Number Four, the next alien teen in line to be killed by the vile Mogadorians. A charm dictates that John and the other nine destined planet-saviors be killed in numerical order because... just because, okay? Since the conclusion of I Am Number Four (2010), John's been on the run with his best friend Sam and alien girl Number Six. Despite the title, Number Six's only role here is to be the butt-kicking object of Sam's and John's affections; John's quests, which range chaotically from escape to rescuing Sam to mooning over his high-school girlfriend, are always paramount. John's chapters interweave with those of Marina, Number Seven, hiding in a convent school in Spain. As Marina's story line involves a tiny bit of actual depth, the frequent cuts back to John only make him seem more vapid by comparison. Ultimately, the two stories climax with flaming green fireballs, mobs of alien monsters, heroes wielding lightning and the conflagration of countless Mogadorians. Michael Bay (who produced the 2011 film adaptation of book one) will surely be pleased.Pub Date: Aug. 23, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-197455-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011
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