The language will carry word-loving readers past the story’s rough spots.
Moments of real beauty and mystery vie for readers’ attention with an overstuffed plot glazed in magic.
The island of Murano was (and is) the home of Venice’s glassworks in 1497. There, Renzo tries to learn his late father’s craft, practicing at night. During the day, he serves the padrone who took him in and worries about how he might support his mother and sister. The glassmakers of Venice are fierce and protective of their skills, even to the point of violence. One night, a silent, green-eyed girl, Letta, and her kestrel creep into the glassworks, and Renzo discovers she leads a group of ragged children, each with a bird companion. Renzo is deeply conflicted as he tries to both teach himself and protect the children. An assassination, a lost relative, intimations of witchcraft, an eye-gouging and high tide seeping into the doge’s dungeons are only some of the plot lines in a story whose seams and rough cuts seem rather visible. But there are some lovely moments, too. “You can watch the glass swell, grow bubble-thin and gossamer, and know that fear is making it lovely, fear is giving it shape. With glass, joy is the preferable medium. But fear is powerful, and it will do, when joy cannot be found.”
The language will carry word-loving readers past the story’s rough spots. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: July 9, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2990-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2013
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
A smart sequel that’s filled with surprises and heart.
In this follow-up to The Rhythm of Time (2023), young time-traveling adventurers face their biggest challenge yet, forcing them to question themselves and one another.
Rahim looks forward to starting eighth grade with best friend Kasia even though he anticipates a tough transition after homeschooling. Kasia makes friends as seamlessly as she makes the cool beats that Rahim skillfully raps over. Although Rahim, who’s a target for bullies, feels a bit left behind, the duo still has their music and a rather unusual extracurricular: on-demand time-travel adventures at the behest of their future selves and the mysterious Aevum Organization. Rahim’s parents place a lot of pressure on him and dismiss his hip-hop dreams as impractical. Adult Rahim and Adult Kasia present the pair with a mission to 1978 Honolulu, where temporal anomalies have been detected. They’ll be facing Chrononauts, time travelers who are trying to change the world to suit their own selfish ends. This entry markedly raises the stakes in ways that challenge even Kasia’s genius. Rahim’s intuition and emotional development are thoughtfully plotted as the kids leave their parents in the dark and take big risks. This nuanced story centering on Black middle schoolers explores trust and care, putting friendship to the test even as the Hawaiian setting offers a provocative allegory for being thoughtful about our global (and interdimensional) impact. Final art not seen.
A smart sequel that’s filled with surprises and heart. (Science fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2026
ISBN: 9780374393175
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2025
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