Fans of ballet will be disappointed by the lack of detail, and fans of magic will be as disappointed by the smoothness of...
There’s magic onstage and off in this production of The Nutcracker.
Unfortunately, there’s little call for applause. Georgie, a blonde white girl, wins the coveted role of Clara, the girl who helps defeat the Mouse King and travels to the Kingdom of Sweets with the Nutcracker prince. The magic begins when Georgie holds the antique Nutcracker doll used as a prop in her hands. He has been under a spell for 200 years, and this is the final time he can call for help before he is imprisoned forever. Georgie is determined to do what she can. As she says: “I believe in magic.” Rehearsals follow with visits to the Nutcracker’s mysterious otherworld, easily entered and easily left. A new friend, Noah, who’s black and who is not in the ballet, helps her and is able to travel in and out of the magic as readily. Georgie juggles concern for her sick grandfather, a busy rehearsal schedule, and a messy friendship with a former BFF who has not been cast. She also uncovers a connection between the E.T.A. Hoffmann classic tale, her teacher, and the Nutcracker doll. It’s a holiday package all conveniently tied together, with too little delving into its elements to satisfy.
Fans of ballet will be disappointed by the lack of detail, and fans of magic will be as disappointed by the smoothness of the spells. (Magical realism. 10-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-55668-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato.
The new kid in school endures becoming the school mascot.
Ben Hardy has never cared for potatoes, and this distaste has become a barrier to adjusting to life in his new Idaho town. His school’s mascot is the Spud, and after a series of misfortunes, Ben is enlisted to don the potato costume and cheer on his school’s team. Ben balances his duties as a life-sized potato against his desperate desire to hide the fact that he’s the dork in the suit. After all, his cute new crush, Jayla, wouldn’t be too impressed to discover Ben’s secret. The ensuing novel is a fairly boilerplate middle–grade narrative: snarky tween protagonist, the crush that isn’t quite what she seems, and a pair of best friends that have more going on than our hero initially believes. The author keeps the novel moving quickly, pushing forward with witty asides and narrative momentum so fast that readers won’t really mind that the plot’s spine is one they’ve encountered many times before. Once finished, readers will feel little resonance and move on to the next book in their to-read piles, but in the moment the novel is pleasant enough. Ben, Jayla, and Ben’s friend Hunter are white while Ellie, Ben’s other good pal, is Latina.
On equal footing with a garden-variety potato. (Fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11866-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
A solid debut: fluent, funny and eminently sequel-worthy.
Inventively tweaking a popular premise, Jensen pits two Incredibles-style families with superpowers against each other—until a new challenge rises to unite them.
The Johnsons invariably spit at the mere mention of their hated rivals, the Baileys. Likewise, all Baileys habitually shake their fists when referring to the Johnsons. Having long looked forward to getting a superpower so that he too can battle his clan’s nemeses, Rafter Bailey is devastated when, instead of being able to fly or something else cool, he acquires the “power” to strike a match on soft polyester. But when hated classmate Juanita Johnson turns up newly endowed with a similarly bogus power and, against all family tradition, they compare notes, it becomes clear that something fishy is going on. Both families regard themselves as the heroes and their rivals as the villains. Someone has been inciting them to fight each other. Worse yet, that someone has apparently developed a device that turns real superpowers into silly ones. Teaching themselves on the fly how to get past their prejudice and work together, Rafter, his little brother, Benny, and Juanita follow a well-laid-out chain of clues and deductions to the climactic discovery of a third, genuinely nefarious family, the Joneses, and a fiendishly clever scheme to dispose of all the Baileys and Johnsons at once. Can they carry the day?
A solid debut: fluent, funny and eminently sequel-worthy. (Adventure. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-06-220961-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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