Readers of the genre will savor this immersive and ultimately satisfying tale of coming of age on the American prairie.
Leif, just coming into manhood on the northern prairie of Minnesota in 1881, must either find a way to make peace with his often angry father or leave the farm forever, as his older siblings have chosen to do.
His competently managed wintertime journey by snowshoe to a distant town to obtain supplies and his chance encounter with Anna, a teen who has been forced to flee a demented uncle despite blizzard conditions, inspire Leif to take a closer look at his unsatisfactory relationship with his emotionally abusive father. As his friendship with Anna deepens into love, a visit from his older sister provides Leif with the first tools to resolve the problems with his father in this heartfelt coming-of-age tale. The guileless language of Hokenson’s third-person narrative perfectly captures both Leif’s earnest simplicity and his wonderment at the wider world after the isolation of his rural upbringing. Historical details are spot-on. Leif’s tender attachments to his mother and Anna are sensitively depicted. His frustration and despair over his father’s anger provide ample conflict, but sometimes the man's behavior just doesn't seem hateful enough to justify Leif's level of angst. Readers may see through his father’s attitude long before Leif does.
Readers of the genre will savor this immersive and ultimately satisfying tale of coming of age on the American prairie. (Historical fiction. 11-16)Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60898-183-0
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Namelos
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
Year-round fun.
Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”
This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”
Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good story with some unexpected twists
After saving the life of a famous model, a 14-year-old Mexican-American boy learns the pressures of popularity and the definition of true heroism.
Dallas freshman Rawly Sánchez knows that life is not perfect. His older brother Jaime is in prison, while his mother’s Mexican restaurant is barely staying afloat. Now, he can’t even visit his brother on Saturdays anymore, or he will miss the required tutoring for the algebra class he is failing. Small bursts of happiness come in the comic books he loves and in hanging out with his nerdy, often-annoying, wisecracking Jewish best friend Nevin Steinberg. Things take a turn for the worse when someone accidentally sets a pig loose in his mom’s restaurant, and the incident makes the local news. Then, Nevin talks Rawly into performing as a duo at the school talent show, where he makes a fool of himself in front of his crush, Miyoko. Everything changes when Rawly misses his bus stop and ends up rescuing 22-year-old model Nikki Demetrius when her car plunges into a river. Instantly, Rawly is on the local and national news, hailed as a hero for saving Nikki’s life. The third-person narration follows Rawley’s journey as he learns who his real friends are and the difference between comic-book and real-world heroes.
A good story with some unexpected twists . (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55885-711-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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