Affirming the value of existing family ties as she perceptively explores the formation of new ones, Hamilton elaborates on themes from Cousins (1990) with a populous sequel. As the Wright clan gathers for a rare family reunion, 12-year-old Cammy meets Jahnina, an oddly mercurial relative from New York City dubbed "Fractal" because she's seldom without her laptop computer. Unable to keep relationships straight, Cammy decides to think of all the young new arrivals as second cousins—until Jahnina calls Cammy's own father "Daddy" and turns the world upside down. Hamilton masterfully choreographs the dance of acquaintanceship, from tentative first exchanges, through tests and boundary-making, to discoveries of common ground; Cammy ultimately gets more help recovering from her shock from Jahnina than from either of her parents. In a grand, climactic reunion ceremony, presided over by Gram Tut Wright, all finally gather at the river where a cousin had drowned a year ago to lay flowers in the water, and to formally tell their names and places in the family line. Along with the strong story line, readers will be absorbed both by the author's language (alternately slangy and poetic), and by the complex emotional and conversational textures.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-590-47368-9
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN FAMILY | TEEN SOCIAL THEMES
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In honor of its 25th anniversary, a Disney Halloween horror/comedy film gets a sequel to go with its original novelization.
Three Salem witches hanged in 1693 for stealing a child’s life force are revived in 1993 when 16-year-old new kid Max completes a spell by lighting a magical candle (which has to be kindled by a virgin to work). Max and dazzling, popular classmate Allison have to keep said witches at bay until dawn to save all of the local children from a similar fate. Fast-forward to 2018: Poppy, daughter of Max and Allison, inadvertently works a spell that sends her parents and an aunt to hell in exchange for the gleeful witches. With help from her best friend, Travis, and classmate Isabella, on whom she has a major crush, Poppy has only hours to keep the weird sisters from working more evil. The witches, each daffier than the last, supply most of the comedy as well as plenty of menace but end up back in the infernal regions. There’s also a talking cat, a talking dog, a gaggle of costumed heroines, and an oblique reference to a certain beloved Halloween movie. Traditional Disney wholesomeness is spiced, not soured, by occasional innuendo and a big twist in the sequel. Poppy and her family are white, while Travis and Isabella are both African-American.
A bit of envelope-pushing freshens up the formula. (Fantasy. 10-15)Pub Date: July 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-368-02003-9
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Freeform/Disney
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
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A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
Categories: TEEN FICTION | TEEN FAMILY
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