A smart, heartwarming novel about the ups and downs of family and friendship
When Fiona’s diary is stolen by the most popular girl in seventh grade, she braces herself for the worst summer ever.
Fiona and Cassie obsess over their secret crushes and tell each other everything. Well, almost everything. Fiona confides her occasional frustrations with Cassie to her diary, along with details about the boys they like. But when Kendra, the ringleader of a clique of mean girls, takes Fiona’s diary and reads it aloud on the bus, Cassie does nothing to stop her. Worse, Cassie stops speaking to Fiona and begins to hang out with the mean girls, leaving Fiona to face her classmates’ teasing about the diary entries alone. The end of the school year brings some relief, but how will Fiona survive the long summer break without her best friend? To top it all off, Fiona is annoyed by the growing presence of her dad’s girlfriend, Jennifer, in their lives. Told in the endearing voice of a wise-beyond-her-years 12-year-old with a knack for self-reflection, this deeply engrossing story offers gentle lessons about the shifting sands of friendship and family and not always getting what you want. A strong subplot features a realistic portrayal of Fiona’s affluent, African-American, co-parenting family. Readers who enjoyed McVoy’s Drive Me Crazy (2015) will welcome this companion novel.
A smart, heartwarming novel about the ups and downs of family and friendship . (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-06-241449-6
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers.
A coming-of-age story bringing awareness to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, “a holiday no one in this school seems to care about.”
Seventh grader Wesley Wilder, an Upper Skagit Indian Tribe descendant living just north of Seattle, proudly awaits the publication of her celebratory work, “We Still Belong: An Indigenous Peoples’ Day Poem!” But when her English teacher doesn’t mention her poem, despite always giving extra credit and class discussion time to students who are published in the school paper, she feels hurt and confused. Later, Wesley’s plans to ask the boy she’s crushing on to the school dance are derailed, adding to her emotional roller coaster. Day (Upper Skagit) crafts believable, complex characters: Wesley lives in a multigenerational Native family, is an outstanding student, a musician, and a gamer. She is kind and helps others in need. Her grandfather’s words—“the things that scare us the most in this world are usually the most worthwhile things in our lives”—help ease her vulnerability and self-doubt. This story, which weaves diversity into the supporting cast, incorporates layers of Native identity throughout, as Wesley connects with a new friend who is a young Native activist, learning more about Christopher Columbus. The triumphant ending shows Wesley raised up by family, friends, and community.
A rich, captivating story that will resonate with readers. (author’s note, note from Cynthia Leitich Smith of Heartdrum, We Need Diverse Books statement) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9780063064560
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Heartdrum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Despite flaws, this is a book worth reading simply for its originality
A fantasy based in Caribbean folklore.
Corinne La Mer is a brave 11-year-old growing up on a Caribbean island. On All Hallow’s Eve, when a pair of troublemaking brothers tie her deceased mother’s prized necklace to a wild animal, Corinne chases the animal into the forest to retrieve it. However, this is no ordinary forest: It’s known for being the abode of “jumbies,” creatures “hidden in the shadows, always waiting for their moment to attack.” Though Corinne doesn’t believe in them, a jumbie follows her out of the forest. The third-person narration tells the back story—in bits and pieces—of this jumbie, who reveals herself to be Corinne’s mother’s sister. It’s never satisfactorily explained why Severine (as Corinne’s jumbie aunt calls herself) seeks out her niece, nearly a decade after her sister’s death. In order to fight Severine—who, sympathetically, only wants a family but is bent on turning humans to jumbies to get one—Corinne must rely not only on her own strength, but that of newfound friends. The novel is based on a Haitian folk tale, according to the author’s note, and it’s refreshing to see a fantasy with its roots outside Europe. Baptiste never quite manages to control the story’s pacing, though, and certain elements in the ending feel arbitrary.
Despite flaws, this is a book worth reading simply for its originality . (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-61620-414-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
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