Starts well out of the gate and has some staying power—but fades a bit over the final furlong. (Fiction. 12-16)
A troubled British teen bonds with a troubled racehorse.
Jay Barton, almost 16, has been living with her wheeler-dealer uncle since her mother died when Jay was 8. She has never known her father. Her uncle lives in the country, with ponies Jay loves to ride and a daughter Jay is close to, but in his house, Jay is Cinderella before the ball—a charity case, an outsider. Worse, Jay’s skill riding racing ponies causes her uncle to drag her into a seamy underworld, where her refusal to lose a race she could win puts her in danger. At a low-level racing stable in Newmarket, she develops a relationship with a well-bred but difficult mare named Manhattan. Eventually—of course, readers know this already—she and Manhattan rise to greatness, although escaping her uncle may not go so smoothly. The story is told through Jay’s first-person narration. Her stubborn persistence and the realistic details of life in a racing barn take this a notch above most horse books. Still, a string of coincidences and a few hokey plot elements—Jay’s search for her father and the benevolent Saudi prince who becomes Jay’s patron chief among them—bring the ending down. The book adheres to the white default.
Starts well out of the gate and has some staying power—but fades a bit over the final furlong. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: May 22, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9273-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.
A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.
Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.
Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful.
January 1945: as Russians advance through East Prussia, four teens’ lives converge in hopes of escape.
Returning to the successful formula of her highly lauded debut, Between Shades of Gray (2011), Sepetys combines research (described in extensive backmatter) with well-crafted fiction to bring to life another little-known story: the sinking (from Soviet torpedoes) of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff. Told in four alternating voices—Lithuanian nurse Joana, Polish Emilia, Prussian forger Florian, and German soldier Alfred—with often contemporary cadences, this stints on neither history nor fiction. The three sympathetic refugees and their motley companions (especially an orphaned boy and an elderly shoemaker) make it clear that while the Gustloff was a German ship full of German civilians and soldiers during World War II, its sinking was still a tragedy. Only Alfred, stationed on the Gustloff, lacks sympathy; almost a caricature, he is self-delusional, unlikable, a Hitler worshiper. As a vehicle for exposition, however, and a reminder of Germany’s role in the war, he serves an invaluable purpose that almost makes up for the mustache-twirling quality of his petty villainy. The inevitability of the ending (including the loss of several characters) doesn’t change its poignancy, and the short chapters and slowly revealed back stories for each character guarantee the pages keep turning.
Heartbreaking, historical, and a little bit hopeful. (author’s note, research and sources, maps) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-16030-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2015
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