by Stephanie Kate Strohm ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 19, 2017
A glittery, holiday-themed, girl-meets-boy-under-less-than-usual-circumstances romance.
A Mississippi teen finds herself in a Scottish manor for the holidays under unexpected circumstances.
Dylan Leigh’s sister, Dusty, found love as a contestant on the reality show Prince in Disguise, and now Dusty is going to marry the prince! Actually, Ronan is really only a lord, as Dylan reminds everyone, but no one seems to care. Now, Dylan, Dusty, and their mother—all white—are on their way from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Ronan’s family home in the Scottish Highlands for the Christmas wedding TV special. Lucky for 16-year-old Dylan, who has spent months dodging the cameras (not so easy to do when you’re 6 feet tall), she gets to be Pippa to Dusty’s Kate, and all events leading up to the big event will be filmed for the pre-special special. Christmas vacation is ruined…until Dylan meets white, blue-eyed Eton boy Jamie, one of the groomsmen. It’s refreshing that they don’t hate-like each other, but rather sparks fly from the start: lightly at first and subsequently heavier as the story unfolds. Then the thought occurs to Dylan: what if the show’s producers are setting her up to be the star of a sequel? Dylan’s best friend, Heaven, is black; the show’s producers bring her over because everyone else is “too white,” a ploy Heaven refers to with a great deal of sarcasm.
A glittery, holiday-themed, girl-meets-boy-under-less-than-usual-circumstances romance. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4847-6817-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2017
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by Ben Philippe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2019
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
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by Patricia McCormick ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 8, 2012
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...
A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.
The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-173093-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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