Drawing in part from her own memories, the late, much-honored author takes a child through a summer of high times and low, of anxious moments and long, lazy days, of loss, love, laughter, and strengthening ties to the past. Between sitting on the porch with her father as night falls in the opening scene, and by the end hearing enough from her mother and cousin about her great-grandfather’s boyhood escape from slavery to bring him into focus within her, Valena shares her wonderful stories. She lays eyes on a traveling circus’s huge great ape; runs through hail to safety as a tornado passes nearby; sees her big brother come crashing through the ceiling; grieves at the passing of a loyal, intelligent dog; hears “tells” from elders about her family’s past, and more. Written in Hamilton’s usual distinctive, creamy idiom, these episodes move back and forth in time, capturing a child finding her place amid those of generations past and present. “Time, and Valena with nothing much to do but sit by her mom, waiting for a tell to rise in her. It was summer, you know, and no school. Well, Valena didn’t even know she was waiting. But somehow, if she stayed still near a grown-up in her family, she’d hear something she’d not heard before.” The first (one hopes not the last) of Hamilton’s works to appear posthumously, this makes a loving, thoughtful addition to her unique literary legacy. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-590-28881-4
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An eminently satisfying story of family, recovery, and growing into manhood.
In this prequel to Newbery Award–winning The Crossover (2014), Alexander revisits previous themes and formats while exploring new ones.
For Charlie Bell, the future father of The Crossover’s Jordan and Josh, his father’s death alters his relationship with his mother and causes him to avoid what reminds him of his dad. At first, he’s just withdrawn, but after he steals from a neighbor, his mother packs a reluctant Charlie off to his grandparents near Washington, D.C., for the summer. His grandfather works part-time at a Boys and Girls Club where his cousin Roxie is a star basketball player. Despite his protests, she draws him into the game. His time with his grandparents deepens Charlie’s understanding of his father, and he begins to heal. “I feel / a little more normal, / like maybe he’s still here, / … in a / as long as I remember him / he’s still right here / in my heart / kind of way.” Once again, Alexander has given readers an African-American protagonist to cheer. He is surrounded by a strong supporting cast, especially two brilliant female characters, his friend CJ and his cousin Roxie, as well as his feisty and wise granddaddy. Music and cultural references from the late 1980s add authenticity. The novel in verse is enhanced by Anyabwile’s art, which reinforces Charlie’s love for comics.
An eminently satisfying story of family, recovery, and growing into manhood. (Historical verse fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-86813-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
SEEN & HEARD
The Baudelaire children—Violet, 14, Klaus, 12, and baby Sunny—are exceedingly ill-fated; Snicket extracts both humor and horror from their situation, as he gleefully puts them through one terrible ordeal after another. After receiving the news that their parents died in a fire, the three hapless orphans are delivered into the care of Count Olaf, who “is either a third cousin four times removed, or a fourth cousin three times removed.” The villainous Count Olaf is morally depraved and generally mean, and only takes in the downtrodden yet valiant children so that he can figure out a way to separate them from their considerable inheritance. The youngsters are able to escape his clutches at the end, but since this is the first installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, there will be more ghastly doings. Written with old-fashioned flair, this fast-paced book is not for the squeamish: the Baudelaire children are truly sympathetic characters who encounter a multitude of distressing situations. Those who enjoy a little poison in their porridge will find it wicked good fun. (b&w illustrations, not seen) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-440766-7
Page Count: 162
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
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