Sixth grader Sonali learns a dramatic lesson about emotional honesty.
The Southern California tween has long shouldered the burden of her parents’ nonstop arguing—distracting her little brother when it makes him cry; stuffing her own feelings; and obeying her father’s code of secrecy and stoicism. Ironically, Indian American Sonali and her best friend, Pakistani American Zara, adore Bollywood movies and all their emoting. Sonali’s Gujarati family even has a weekly Hindi movie night, reveling in the high emotions on the screen while keeping their own trapped firmly behind closed doors. But her parents’ trial separation, combined with Zara’s growing friendship with a new girl at school, pushes Sonali beyond her limit. She is stricken with “filmi magic,” waking up in an alternate, Bollywood-enhanced world in which personal soundtracks express your true mood and intense feelings lead to song-and-dance numbers. Hair, clothing, and decor even get the Technicolor Bollywood treatment. Losing control leads Sonali to explore possible solutions to her “Bollywooditis”—and the inevitable realization that she must find the courage to open up to those who love her, which in turn fosters family and friendship growth. Sonali’s distress is painfully real, showing the isolating ripple effects of parental conflict on relationships and school performance. As much of the novel centers Sonali’s inner turmoil as she spins her emotional wheels, at times repetitively, it will appeal most to readers who appreciate character-driven stories.
A love letter to Bollywood that offers heartfelt encouragement to the lonely. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6673-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
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PERSPECTIVES
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
Categories: GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
Separated from his pack, Swift, a young wolf, embarks on a perilous search for a new home.
Swift’s mother impresses on him early that his “pack belongs to the mountains and the mountains belong to the pack.” His father teaches him to hunt elk, avoid skunks and porcupines, revere the life that gives them life, and “carry on” when their pack is devastated in an attack by enemy wolves. Alone and grieving, Swift reluctantly leaves his mountain home. Crossing into unfamiliar territory, he’s injured and nearly dies, but the need to run, hunt, and live drives him on. Following a routine of “walk-trot-eat-rest,” Swift traverses prairies, canyons, and deserts, encountering men with rifles, hunger, thirst, highways, wild horses, a cougar, and a forest fire. Never imagining the “world could be so big or that I could be so alone in it,” Swift renames himself Wander as he reaches new mountains and finds a new home. Rife with details of the myriad scents, sounds, tastes, touches, and sights in Swift/Wander’s primal existence, the immediacy of his intimate, first-person, present-tense narration proves deeply moving, especially his longing for companionship. Realistic black-and-white illustrations trace key events in this unique survival story, and extensive backmatter fills in further factual information about wolves and their habitat.
A sympathetic, compelling introduction to wolves from the perspective of one wolf and his memorable journey. (additional resources, map) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 7, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-289593-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ACTION & ADVENTURE FICTION | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
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