Gallagher’s tale evolves beyond a simple popularity quest, as amid the commotion wrought by her voodoo experiments, Cleo...
A belated birthday gift creates havoc for 11-year-old Cleo.
In the decade since her mother’s death, it has always been just Cleo and her father, and that’s fine. But recent events cause turmoil for the sixth grader. After relocating to Los Angeles from Ohio, Cleo’s transition to her new school is complicated socially, due in part to the taunts from popular girl Madison. Also, her dad’s growing relationship with Terri further disconcerts Cleo. When Cleo receives a “Positive Happy Voodoo Doll” from her eccentric uncle, she is intrigued by the possibilities. Along with her new friend, Samantha, Cleo decides to use the doll’s voodoo to boost their popularity. But Cleo soon becomes ambivalent about the voodoo doll, even as Samantha insists they continue. Gallagher’s tale addresses concerns familiar to preteens about fitting in and friendships. When a hex appears to have a serious consequence, Cleo decides she’s done with magical manipulation, despite Samantha’s dismay. In a comically frenetic denouement, Cleo’s attempts to undo the voodoo complications garner an unexpected ally and a surprising new friend. While the effectiveness of Uncle Arnie’s magic remains a mystery, Gallagher ends the book by foreshadowing Cleo’s next magical misadventure.
Gallagher’s tale evolves beyond a simple popularity quest, as amid the commotion wrought by her voodoo experiments, Cleo gains an appreciation for authentic friendships. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51115-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2015
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short.
In the dystopian, totalitarian world of 2099, 14-year-old Tessa and her family are desperate to solve the mystery of her twin brother Theo’s disappearance.
Tessa is growing up in a time when playgrounds are historical relics, surveillance cameras are everywhere, music is outlawed, and owning books is illegal. Under the absolute rule of Zokiris, the decadeslong leader of her territory, people are heavily controlled. When Theo vanishes under mysterious circumstances and his name is erased from the Territory Statistics list, Tessa’s 135-year-old neighbor, Miriam, gives the family contraband books that become central to figuring out Theo’s whereabouts. Most books have long since been seized and stored away in Building 903; Tessa is intrigued by their presence in her home, while her mother is terrified. Lowry, the acclaimed, award-winning author of The Giver (1993), shines in her creation of uncomfortably believable dystopian societies. Tessa’s painfully limited world is fully imagined, with its own history, laws, and norms. Her relationship with her brother reads as realistic and tender and is crucial to the mystery. Miriam is the most strongly developed character: wise and independent, unafraid and hopeful. While the climb to the book’s climax is captivating, the hurried resolution is disappointing. The powerful messaging around the importance of literature and imagination certainly resonates, however. The main characters present white.
A successful call for creating and imagining, even if the story itself falls short. (Dystopian. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780063515109
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
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