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 real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
Entrancing and uplifting.
A small dog, the elderly woman who owns him, and a homeless girl come together to create a tale of serendipity.
Piper, almost 12, her parents, and her younger brother are at the bottom of a long slide toward homelessness. Finally in a family shelter, Piper finds that her newfound safety gives her the opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help even more. Jewel, mentally ill, lives in the park with her dog, Baby. Unwilling to leave her pet, and forbidden to enter the shelter with him, she struggles with the winter weather. Ree, also homeless and with a large dog, helps when she can, but after Jewel gets sick and is hospitalized, Baby’s taken to the animal shelter, and Ree can’t manage the complex issues alone. It’s Piper, using her best investigative skills, who figures out Jewel’s backstory. Still, she needs all the help of the shelter Firefly Girls troop that she joins to achieve her accomplishment: to raise enough money to provide Jewel and Baby with a secure, hopeful future and, maybe, with their kindness, to inspire a happier story for Ree. Told in the authentic alternating voices of loving child and loyal dog, this tale could easily slump into a syrupy melodrama, but Pyron lets her well-drawn characters earn their believable happy ending, step by challenging step, by reaching out and working together. Piper, her family, and Jewel present white; Pyron uses hair and naming convention, respectively, to cue Ree as black and Piper’s friend Gabriela as Latinx.
Entrancing and uplifting. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-283922-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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