by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer & illustrated by Elaine Clayton ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 2008
Living separate lives to please her divorced parents, a young girl struggles to define herself. JoEllen’s mother lives in a city apartment while her father lives 42 miles away in a farmhouse. JoEllen (named for both parents) admits “my days . . . are as different as my names.” She spends schooldays with Mom, who calls her “Ellen,” and weekends with Dad, who calls her “Joey.” JoEllen and Mom love takeout. JoEllen and Dad invent their own recipes. In the city, JoEllen plays the sax, watches old movies, wears vintage clothing and works at a secondhand shop with her best friends. At the farm, she trail rides with her cousin, listens to bluegrass, wears work boots and slops out the stable. Split “like an apple’s pale heart / on either side of the blade,” JoEllen decides her two lives need to meet—just in time for her 13th birthday. Embellished with Clayton’s scrapbook-like black-and-white illustrations, the free-verse text traces the hopes and fears of a thoughtful teen who optimistically merges the best of her two lives into an even better “new me.” (Fiction/poetry. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 21, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-618-61867-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2008
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by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer and illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
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by Thanhhà Lai ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 9, 2023
A strong depiction of both the struggles of refugees and the resilience and love one girl finds within herself.
In this long-awaited sequel to Inside Out & Back Again (2011), Hà’s story of adjusting to life outside of Vietnam continues.
Since coming to the United States from Vietnam as a refugee, she has changed and grown in her new country. After finally settling into school and making a friend, Hà is excited to experience an American birthday party. But then her mother announces her plans to move the family from Alabama to Texas in search of new opportunities. Twelve-year-old Hà dreads the thought of starting over once again, but she is eventually outvoted. In Texas, her mother and brother find jobs, and Hà, determined to help, has her own plans to grow and sell plants. At the same time, she navigates the trials of a new school, casual racism and prejudice, and puberty. Through its verse structure, the narration allows Hà’s humor and determination to shine through. As she continues to strive to be true to herself, she finds that this means walking an entirely new path, something different from what her mother imagined but also different from the paths of her classmates. Addressing the challenges of making a new life after trauma and war while also exploring the powerful bonds that shape a family, this is a frank and beautiful continuation of Hà’s story that is also accessible to readers meeting her for the first time.
A strong depiction of both the struggles of refugees and the resilience and love one girl finds within herself. (Verse fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9780063047006
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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by Thanhhà Lai
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by Thanhhà Lai
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PERSPECTIVES
by W. Nikola-Lisa & illustrated by Sean Qualls ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2006
Anchored by massive resource lists for adults in tiny type at the back, these 12 thumbnails attempt, not very successfully, to introduce to young or inexpert readers the idea of “multiple intelligences.” After suggesting that “smart” can mean more than scholastic excellence, the author proceeds to prove the opposite with a cast of professionals that mixes such non-household names as physicist/geologist Luis Alvarez, astronomer Annie Jump Cannon and botanist Ynés Mexía with the more familiar likes of Thurgood Marshall, Georgia O’Keeffe and I.M. Pei. Opposite stylized, expressionistic but still recognizable portraits from Qualls, he introduces each with roughly hewn, rap-style verses, followed by a single-paragraph career sketch. Though at the beginning he lists eight intelligences, such as “Body Smart,” “Logic Smart” and even “Nature Smart,” Nikola-Lisa never directly links any of them to his subjects; instead, he instructs readers to figure it out for themselves—without providing more than scattered, vague clues. It’s a worthy concept for creative types and other misfits to absorb, but the author doesn’t seem to understand it very well himself. (Collective biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-58430-254-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2006
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by W. Nikola-Lisa & illustrated by Bonnie Christensen
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by W. Nikola-Lisa & illustrated by Felipe Galindo
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by W. Nikola-Lisa & illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max
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