Dairman manages to blend an overabundance of ingredients into a tasty dish that series fans should eat up
by Tara Dairman ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2016
A 12-year-old girl who secretly works as a restaurant reviewer for a major newspaper juggles her professional life, scholastic responsibilities, and circle of friends, all while beginning a new school.
Gladys Gatsby, who lives in suburban East Dumpsford, is as busy as popcorn on a skillet in her third outing, which picks up right where The Stars of Summer (2015) left off. Paced at a rapid boil, the story is both overstuffed and underspiced, and the characters, though well-differentiated, have individual traits but not much flavor. The plot ingredients include Gladys’ unemployed aunt Lydia, who needs help getting her life together; figuring out what to do about a job offer from Gladys’ editor, who doesn’t know her real age; helping her friend Sandy become the “gross-foods king” of his class; reconnecting with her summertime crush; and her commitment to far too many after-school clubs. Although Gladys may have bitten off more than she can chew, Dairman’s resourceful and increasingly confident heroine works hard to help her friends and fulfill her responsibilities. Gladys, who’s white, has a close Indian friend and other classmates of color, and she lightly explores food from several cultures.
Dairman manages to blend an overabundance of ingredients into a tasty dish that series fans should eat up . (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: July 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-99648-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Tara Dairman
BOOK REVIEW
by Tara Dairman ; illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan
BOOK REVIEW
by Tara Dairman ; illustrated by Rebecca Green
BOOK REVIEW
by Tara Dairman
by Louis Sachar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998
Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar (Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, 1995, etc.).
Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.
Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this rugged, engrossing adventure. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5
Page Count: 233
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
More by Louis Sachar
BOOK REVIEW
by Louis Sachar ; illustrated by Tim Heitz
BOOK REVIEW
by Louis Sachar
BOOK REVIEW
by Louis Sachar
by Alice Hoffman ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2015
There’s a monster in Sidwell, Massachusetts, that can only be seen at night or, as Twig reveals, if passersby are near her house.
It’s her older brother, James, born with wings just like every male in the Fowler line for the last 200 years. They were cursed by the Witch of Sidwell, left brokenhearted by their forebear Lowell Fowler. Twig and James are tired of the secret and self-imposed isolation. Lonely Twig narrates, bringing the small town and its characters to life, intertwining events present and past, and describing the effects of the spell on her fractured family’s daily life. Longing for some normalcy and companionship, she befriends new-neighbor Julia while James falls in love with Julia’s sister, Agate—only to learn they are descendants of the Witch. James and Agate seem as star-crossed as their ancestors, especially when the townspeople attribute a spate of petty thefts and graffiti protesting the development of the woods to the monster and launch a hunt. The mix of romance and magic is irresistible and the tension, compelling. With the help of friends and through a series of self-realizations and discoveries, Twig grows more self-assured. She is certain she knows how to change the curse. In so doing, Twig not only changes James’ fate, but her own, for the first time feeling the fullness of family, friends and hope for the future.
Enchanting. (Magical realism. 9-12)Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-38958-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Wendy Lamb/Random
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
Share your opinion of this book
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
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
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.