by Vijaya Lakshmi Chetty illustrated by Raynald Kudemus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 4, 2014
An insightful and well-intentioned, if occasionally lackluster, book on raising happy teenagers.
A creative approach to handling the teenage years.
This parenting manual uses both fiction and nonfiction to help parents navigate the trickier bits of raising teenagers. Chetty (Where Am I?, 2013), a medical practitioner in Australia, opens the book with a story about a conference of the Gods created to help these troubled children. On the first day of the convention, letters from anxious parents are read by the Gods. This fairly effective bit—the letters are relatable and written realistically—conveys stories about the traps in which adolescents can get caught: drugs, cutting, bullying, etc. The authors of these letters, mostly average parents, are clearly distraught and unsure of what to do. In turn, the Gods spend the next two days of the convention assessing the situations and offering suggestions. They essentially conclude that a lack of awareness and good communication often contribute to the breakdown between parents and children, although much of it is biological as well. That’s where readers get a taste of Chetty’s medical background and learn that adolescent brains do not fully mature until they are 25 or so, though there are certain tools that can be used to work around this. While the tools themselves are not especially new—clearing clutter from our lives, appreciating those around us, meditating, being creative and learning self-defense techniques—Chetty does take a very practical approach, which is helpful. “Look around your room,” she advises, “focus upon an item, and ask yourself, ‘Is this item important to my immediate experience?’ ” Though her language is clear and accessible, the story drags a bit, and the book in general suffers in part because its audience is not especially clear. It comes across as rather juvenile for either adults or disaffected teens. Those readers are unlikely to pick this book up and feel connected to it as a whole, although some individual chapters may be useful. In many ways, the better approach would have been to write a more straightforward parenting manual, one that doesn’t attempt to lure in older children with a fairy tale.
An insightful and well-intentioned, if occasionally lackluster, book on raising happy teenagers.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1482897555
Page Count: 62
Publisher: PartridgeIndia
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Marti Dumas illustrated by Stephanie Parcus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 2017
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
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A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Paul Langan Ben Alirez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2004
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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