by William Francis Wall ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 24, 2012
Packed with more potshots at the political right than an Air America highlight reel; readers fond of alliteration and...
A zany political satire from debut author Wall.
Ulysses Endymion Wynn—known to most as Yew—is a young man doing his best in a difficult world. As a diligent worker and part-time grad student, he encompasses all the toil and moral cement of a striving working-class hero. When a series of circumstances beyond his control sends him on a kooky adventure around the world, Yew sees firsthand the evil reach of the powers that be. From an “ultraright” president who cares for nothing so much as the approval of FOXY News to a businessman with more money and ex-wives than he can count, innocent Yew discovers time and again that people—particularly wealthy, right-wing people—don’t care about much more than themselves. Nothing is holy for characters with names like Dud Drover and Miss Fortuna Sultana Dow-Jones. Even for fans of over-the-top satire, the message can grow tiresome, particularly when the message is presented with overdone alliteration and lengthy sentences. For example, when Yew meets the aforementioned businessman: “ ‘The name’s Maximus Inminimis Mountebank Barnum Randall, Yew, although, to those who know the fiscal ropes and how to unknot them, I'm known as ‘the Wizard of Wall Street,’ ‘the Kingmaker of K Street,’ ‘the American-Dream Determiner,’ and ‘the Midas-touch Maximizer,’ but simply call me ‘Max,’ ’ Max said magniloquently and then he stuck out a manicured hand and which Yew then shook hesitantly as Max showed off the infectious showman’s smile that he had polished via years of palaverously selling ideas and goods that buyers hadn’t thought that they could be sold on.” As typical complaints about big business and the politicians who love it are rehashed, not much new ground seems to be covered. Yew’s adventure may excite some readers who enjoy their right-wing caricatures writ large, although Yew himself doesn’t garner all that much interest. Unlike Joseph Heller’s Yossarin, who found himself in an equally cartoonish and frightening world, Yew is so squeaky clean and unchangeable that he wins little sympathy. Throughout his adventure, he merely finds more reasons why his initial worldview was correct. Politically, Yew may be the polar opposite of Rush Limbaugh, but his experience of the world appears to be just as self-confirming. Readers looking for a complex, nuanced look at world problems might look elsewhere.
Packed with more potshots at the political right than an Air America highlight reel; readers fond of alliteration and interested in a fairly straightforward satire will find much to enjoy.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2012
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 580
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2012
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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