Irish narrator Mags has moved to a new town after her father’s death. Talented Gillian, who practices violin in the woods Mags explores, can’t seem to find her own dad. An aspiring writer at age 11, Mags ostensibly crafts this dual-voiced novel, giving herself the longer, cleverer bits. Mags hatches a plan to find Gillian’s recalcitrant father and tap him for the money Gillian needs to audition at a renowned London music school. Parkinson portrays a fresh, feisty heroine in Mags, whose “Project Manhunt”—far more intriguing to her than Gillian—is an unconscious stab at reconciling her father’s death. There are poignant, funny passages as Mags, her mother, grandfather and even Mum’s new friend, Don, approach that reconciliation. Gillian and her family, eccentric and disconnected, contrast thinly and sadly with Mags’s own. The dénouement—wherein Mags tracks Gillian’s dad to his apartment in the next town—doesn’t quite equal the setup, a fact that can’t be pinned on the budding fictive author. An often-touching exploration of the variant ties between friends, and in families. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 1-59643-122-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2007
Like its predecessor, a satisfying, Incredibles-style mix of awesome exploits and common family issues.
Deprived of superpowers in the previous episode (Almost Super, 2014), can the Bailey and Johnson clans put aside their squabbles to tackle their common nemesis, the Joneses?
Determined to prove that they have the mettle to join their parents and relatives in fighting crime, 13-year-old Rafter Bailey, his little brother, Benny, and erstwhile rival Juanita Johnson (definitely the brains of the trio) kick off their own search for the Joneses’ secret hideout. Little do they suspect that those clever villains have planted a ringer in their very midst. Sabotage and other distractions ensue, until Juanita’s sudden disappearance sharpens not only the urgency of the search, but also Rafter’s guilt for being a poor friend. The kidnapping turns out to be a crucial mistake for the bad guys, however, as resourceful Juanita gets off a call for help that both brings the Baileys and Johnsons together for a collective rescue operation and, amid much breakage of glass and heroic feats of derring-do, foils the evil schemes of scenery-chewing archfiend October Jones. Rafter makes a likable narrator, emotionally open and determined to be both a good superhero and a good friend.
Like its predecessor, a satisfying, Incredibles-style mix of awesome exploits and common family issues. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-220958-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 30, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
There is something profoundly elemental going on in Smalls’s book: the capturing of a moment of unmediated joy. It’s not melodramatic, but just a Saturday in which an African-American father and son immerse themselves in each other’s company when the woman of the house is away. Putting first things first, they tidy up the house, with an unheralded sense of purpose motivating their actions: “Then we clean, clean, clean the windows,/wipe, wipe, wash them right./My dad shines in the windows’ light.” When their work is done, they head for the park for some batting practice, then to the movies where the boy gets to choose between films. After a snack, they work their way homeward, racing each other, doing a dance step or two, then “Dad takes my hand and slows down./I understand, and we slow down./It’s a long, long walk./We have a quiet talk and smile.” Smalls treats the material without pretense, leaving it guileless and thus accessible to readers. Hays’s artwork is wistful and idyllic, just as this day is for one small boy. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-316-79899-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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