Amusing and compelling—though hopefully, we’ll next read about Lexi in her own words.
A semiautobiographical story from 13-year-old Lexi tells of her worries leading into her second Deep Brain Stimulation surgery.
Lexi’s been disabled since she was a baby, scarcely able to control her muscles or speak. Home-schooled (though, as she reminds readers, not for religious reasons like many other home-schoolers in her Charlotte, North Carolina, community), she’s incredibly bright: reading young and starting to learn French at 5. She starts off communicating by moving magnetic refrigerator letters on a cookie sheet and experiments with different assistive technology communication devices. This ostensibly first-person perspective from Lexi—including her author’s note—is written by her mother based on conversations between mother and daughter via alphabet magnet and gesture (Lexi contributes several paragraphs to the author’s note). Lexi, as portrayed here, is a cheeky White kid who loves jokes, fanfic, and her four siblings. Lexi is a believable and likable young person. Five- and 6-year-old Lexi, in flashbacks, has a frustratingly indistinguishable internal voice from the teenager, but she’s still a clever and compelling narrator. Her mother’s voice rarely dominates; her mother’s concern about the possible malpractice that led to Lexi’s brain injury seems of little interest to Lexi herself. It’s important that Lexi is a real, funny, smart, geeky kid. It is also important that she’s not the one telling us so, despite the first-person narrative voice.
Amusing and compelling—though hopefully, we’ll next read about Lexi in her own words. (authors’ note, doctor’s note) (Fictionalized memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73422-593-8
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Penelope Editions
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A spirited biography untangles the accretion of myth and story around Pocahontas and makes clear what little is actually known and what fragments of the historical record are available. The text is rich in illustration and in sidebars (on longhouses, colonial diet, weaponry and so on) that illuminate the central narrative. Whether Pocahontas saved John Smith’s life directly or as part of an elaborate ritual might not matter, argues Jones. Pocahontas and her people were certainly responsible for keeping the English settlement of Jamestown from starvation. Relations between English settlers and Native people were uneasy at best, and the author traces these carefully, relating how Pocahontas was later kidnapped by the British and held for ransom. When none was forthcoming, she was converted both to English ways and the Christian religion, marrying the widower John Rolfe and traveling to England, where Pocahontas saw John Smith once again and died at about the age of 21. An excellent stab at myth busting and capturing the nuances of both the figure and her times. (glossary, bibliography, source notes, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4027-6844-6
Page Count: 124
Publisher: Sterling
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
In sports, just as in every other endeavor, women have had to struggle to be accepted, let alone recognized—same as it ever was. Stout profiles five women who pioneered their gender’s place in sports theretofore the exclusive preserve of males. It might have been nearly a century ago, as in the case of swimmer Gertrude Ederle, who swam the English Channel in 1926, and Louise Stokes and Tidye Pickett, America’s first African-American women in the Olympic games (in 1932 and in Berlin’s notorious 1936 venue). More recent pioneers include the jockey Julie Krone, who won the Belmont Stakes in 1993, and Danica Patrick, who won an Indy-car race in 2008. Stout tells their stories with bubbly enthusiasm, exploring the roots of their interest and ably conveying the joy they found in their respective endeavors. Despite the high level of their achievements, he draws them as natural talents, not as freaks of nature. There is much here of perseverance and courage, of training and sacrifice, but what Stout zeroes in on is a moment of triumph, whether it be a checkered flag or breaking the color barrier. Never patronizing, he captures both grit and glory in a fast-paced package that goes down easy even as it inspires. (Collective biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-41725-7
Page Count: 118
Publisher: Sandpiper
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
