Charlie, 12, can’t read and doesn’t even know his last name. He does know he’s being punished because he’s bad. Father (who is plainly psychotic) keeps Charlie locked in the basement, allowing him to scavenge for food only at night; his frightened mother does nothing to help. One night he steps outside briefly, and the wind blows the door shut behind him. Terrified, he runs into the street, where he’s found and hospitalized. Because he has never gone to school, he knows nothing of the simplest things like Halloween and is convinced that he’s in danger if he goes outside. His struggle to understand his new life in a loving home and his terror of an imaginary, enormous spider that represents his father are more powerful, since it’s Charlie who tells the story. Shaw’s simple language and sentence structure effectively contribute to the realism of her psychological tale, even as she avoids a too-vivid description of physical abuse. This affecting, ultimately uplifting examination of a boy’s recovery from extreme child abuse is a stunner and certain to attract readers. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-525-47223-1
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004
Very, very good.
A bipolar teen pushes her washed-up magician father toward one last redemptive deception.
Ten years ago, Ellie Dante’s father ruined his career when he flubbed a trick called the Truck Drop on national TV. Not long after, Ellie’s mother died by suicide. Ellie and her dad fled to Fort Wayne, Indiana, eking out a living performing magic at birthday parties and weddings. But bookings have dwindled and they can’t make lot rent for their RV or afford the medications for Ellie’s bipolar disorder or her dad’s heart condition. They’ve resorted to using their sleight-of-hand talents to commit petty theft when Ellie gets the offer that might save them: Re-create the Truck Drop, live from Hollywood, for a pile of cash. Ellie has to figure out how to get them across the country, prise the necessary props out of a reclusive millionaire’s hands, persuade her father to overcome his demons, and pull off the trick, all the while battling the mounting effects of her lack of medication. Ellie is a talented magician herself but is afraid of the effect performing has on her brain, and the trip itself takes a toll. Garvin’s (Symptoms of Being Human, 2016) portrayal of Ellie’s bipolar experience is exceptional; the world of magic is also superbly rendered. The story lags a bit in the middle, but its strengths more than make up for its shortcomings. All main characters are white.
Very, very good. (author’s note, resources) (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-238289-4
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
A simply real story, devoid of clichés, that will leave an indelible mark.
Shadi’s life is slowly falling apart: Her best friend, Zahra, doesn’t talk to her anymore, and her parents are dealing with grief and depression in the aftermath of her brother Mehdi’s sudden death.
It’s 2003, and all of this is compounded by the hatred Shadi receives every day at school for being Iranian American and a hijabi. The lack of support leaves Shadi struggling to keep afloat. She’s behind in her classes and exhausted because she often stays up at night listening to her mother’s agonizing despair over losing Mehdi. Her father, once a healthy, fit man, recently had a second heart attack, and Shadi’s sister, Shayda, has taken over running the house. Everyone is so mired in their own trauma and pain that Shadi, the youngest, often finds herself forgotten, both literally and figuratively. The expectation of keeping one’s home life private and of separating the political from the personal are themes throughout the book. Woven through this story of trauma and resilience is a soft romance between Shadi and Zahra’s brother, Ali. Mafi confronts issues of mental health, suicidality, racism, and self-love in ways that will leave readers reacting viscerally and powerfully. Reading this novel is like being dropped straight into the everyday lives of a Muslim family in post–9/11 America.
A simply real story, devoid of clichés, that will leave an indelible mark. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297241-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
PROFILES
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