A debut whose slow beginning belies its powerful conclusion.
What is true strength? Tough girl Breanna is about to find out.
Sixth grader Breanna Woodruff has finally made some friends, 5 years after she and her mother moved to Beecham, 50 miles away from Detroit and the father they have a restraining order against. Making her mark as the gutsiest kid in school, Breanna cannot let the other kids find out how afraid she is of heights. Therefore, she is adamant that she will not be going to the sixth grade team-building camp that features a treetop obstacle course that fills her with terror. Her mother, however, has other ideas, and in due course, Breanna finds herself at camp, trying desperately to keep up her reputation. But the stunning natural beauty of the place, the wisdom of the camp counselors, and the lure of a softball game against mean girl Cami slowly take down Breanna’s protective defenses. Although the first half of the story repeats its main topics too often and the rote delineation of secondary characters’ personality traits substitutes for deep character development, the metaphors are refreshingly original, and the descriptions of the setting are keenly observed. The second half of the story perks up considerably, and the truly powerful denouement will not easily be forgotten. Impressively, the story’s conclusion delivers nuanced, hard-fought realizations on the natures of fear, friendship, and past traumas. Breanna is White; there is ethnic diversity among the secondary characters.
A debut whose slow beginning belies its powerful conclusion. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: July 11, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-79721-564-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
Moving and perceptive: Hankies are a must.
A sixth grader struggles with feelings and survival strategies after his single mom disappears.
Hank is more or less used to being left to cope with caring for himself and his 3-year-old sister, Boo, for short stretches—but when their mother vanishes for a week, the power goes off, and the landlord serves an eviction notice, it’s crisis time. What’s the right thing to do? Along with sensitively exploring Hank’s rough emotional landscape as his mother’s whereabouts remain unknown, Choldenko offers a moving portrayal of the powerful bonds that connect him, an unwillingly parentified child, and the younger sibling who means everything to him. Throwing themselves on the mercies of strangers with emotional vulnerabilities of their own earns at least temporary respite but also leads to brushes with the foster care system, the threat of being separated, and, most wrenchingly, the necessity of making yet another consequential choice; finally, his sorely missed mom abruptly reappears. Meanwhile, not only does a neighbor’s extended Latine clan give the two white children their first glimpses of life in a bustling household, but Hank gets a warmer welcome than he was expecting from the diverse classmates at his new middle school. These experiences, plus the fact that Hank and Boo are both strongly appealing characters in their own different ways, will give readers cause for intense relief when the author throws the pair a lifeline at the end.
Moving and perceptive: Hankies are a must. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781524718923
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
Readers of both genders will take to this original and hilarious story—so long as they do not still believe in Santa.
A zany take on how Christmas happens aims straight for the middle-grade humor sweet spot.
The year her father moves to North Dakota pursuing an oil job, 12-year-old Bobbie Mendoza decides to ignore Christmas. Before this, Bobbie was a normal girl, but now she oozes ’tude: her favorite color is “black. Black goes with everything. Even me.” Among the other indignities of this year, the family’s inflatable Zombie Santa attacks Bobbie—resulting in a “stupid HOT PINK cast.” Bobbie’s decision to get younger brother Tad a 3D Mega Machine by any means necessary leads to her abduction by two elves, learning the truth about the evil keeper of the Naughty List, and discovering what Tad really wants for Christmas. Along the way Bobbie meets a less-than-admirable Santa in a North Pole redolent of refried beans, along with equally unconventional reindeer led by antler-sparking Larry (not the other one). The copious illustrations, black-and-white cartoons reminiscent of Fry’s comic strip, “Over the Hedge,” add fun, clarity, and (oddly enough) believability to the text. Despite the female main focus, boys will enjoy the story too. References to butts, farts, and lead reindeer Larry’s incontinence will cause mirth and the occasional guffaw.
Readers of both genders will take to this original and hilarious story—so long as they do not still believe in Santa. (Fantasy. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-235475-4
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
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