by William Sleator ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 1983
Sam's mother concocts an impossible scheme to rescue younger son Humphrey's musical career, and the unlikely plan seems to work in this loony, unstrained narrative. Humphrey wakes up believing he has become the medium for deceased gypsy pianist/composer Laszlo Magyar; his family describes his strange behavior the night before and a new score is in his hand. What's more, even music specialists in the audience of his otherwise lackluster concert acknowledge both the Magyar style in the piece and Humphrey's higher artistry in the playing. Suddenly, he's in demand, playing Milan, Geneva, Vienna. In truth, though, his family is tricking him: Sam actually writes the compositions and their mother drugs Humphrey with Seconal so he won't remember the night before. But then weird things happen that also happened to Magyar, and a strange old man appears at the end of each performance, correcting the composition. Sleator has his own choice parody here as Sam takes his inspiration from hotel radiator noises and reads in a biography of Magyar hilarious gypsy anecdotes. But their situation rests on harsher realities and includes some sad truths of family life. Jealousy and other feelings force Sam to spill the beans to increasingly uppity Humphrey—who really suffers from the news—yet that stage mother still wants the show to go on. Sam tells it all with such brisk good humor that though the parents are manipulative the story is not. Even readers unfamiliar with music terms and room service menus can follow the notes and savor the gypsy in these souls.
Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1983
ISBN: 0765353490
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1983
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by Gary Paulsen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1987
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
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by Tahereh Mafi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2011
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre.
A dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself.
Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Mysteriously, Juliette’s touch kills. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate—Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. Unfortunately, he’s a soldier under orders from Warner, a power-hungry 19-year-old. But Adam belongs to a resistance movement; he helps Juliette escape to their stronghold, where she finds that she’s not the only one with superhuman abilities. The ending falls flat as the plot devolves into comic-book territory. Fast-paced action scenes convey imminent danger vividly, but there’s little sense of a broader world here. Overreliance on metaphor to express Juliette’s jaw-dropping surprise wears thin: “My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps. My eyebrows are dangling from the ceiling.” For all of her independence and superpowers, Juliette never moves beyond her role as a pawn in someone else’s schemes.
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-208548-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
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