A mild but enjoyable adventure.
Young Sophie Washington has fun and faces challenges at a sixth grade class retreat in this 11th children’s book in Ellis’ series.
The story takes place over two days as Sophie’s private school in Houston brings its students to Camp Glowing Spring for outdoor activities. Sophie is looking forward to spending time with her friends, but she’s also apprehensive about being in the woods after watching Finding Big Foot, which gave her nightmares. She knows that Bigfoot is a hoax, but she still worries—especially after seeing glimpses of a tall, unkempt, hairy man in baggy clothes around camp. She’s also anxious about heights and swimming in the lake, but once she gives the retreat’s activities a try, she has fun. On the other hand, another school’s campers sling racist insults at her and her friend Mariama, both Black, and Christy Chen, who’s Asian American. Sophie discovers that she enjoys playing pranks on racist jerks, and she eventually learns the truth about the hairy man. Ellis shows insight into the doubts and joys of middle school in this latest outing. Although Sophie is part of the popular crowd, she sometimes feels like the odd one out, even within her tight group of friends. The author also effectively relates how Sophie doesn’t appreciate her friends’ interest in boys and how they don’t share her wariness about trying new things. Later, Ellis shows Sophie’s growth when she takes some risks but still has fun. The book encourages appreciation for the outdoors and includes a nature scavenger-hunt list. The tale does seem rather slight, overall, though, and it could have treated the issue of racism with more depth. Uncredited black-outline illustrations economically convey characters and settings.
A mild but enjoyable adventure.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73533-892-7
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Page Turner Publishing
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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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