A summer ruined by having to cater to her brother’s inexplicable illness leaves Susan friendless, bored and resentful enough to become a poster child for teen angst. But how can she know that things will get worse—much worse—and soon? Slowly, Susan and her brother Gary connect his increasingly serious weakness to disturbing events in the garden of their ancestral home—circumstances that introduce the dual concepts of quantum theory and the uncertainty principle. As in much science fiction, plot drives this book and concepts drive the plot. Susan’s fearfulness and Gary’s manipulative bullying ring true, adding suspense to the mix. After Sleator sets the scene, the story takes off and tension builds exponentially to a totally surprising conclusion. Although explanations of quantum events are occasionally heavy-handed, the exploits of these two teens in trouble, guided by a cat with strange abilities, will keep readers turning pages until the very end of this exploration of multiple universes. (Science fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-8109-5858-9
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2005
This cracking good mixture of magic and place will leave readers eagerly awaiting the sequel
A mixed-race girl in Dust Bowl Kansas discovers her long-lost father isn't just a black man: He's a fairy.
Callie has been passing as white her whole life, helping her Mama in run-down Slow Run, Kan. But now it doesn't seem to matter that she keeps her "good skin" out of the sun and softens her "coarse" hair, because it seems everyone's left the dust-choked town. Even Mama is gone now, vanished in a preternatural dust storm that summoned a strange man who tells Callie secrets of her never-met father. Soon Callie's walking the dusty roads with Jack, a ragged white kid. If Callie's dad is a fairy, then the two young'uns will just have to go to fairyland to find him. Callie and Jack dodge fairy politics and dangers, from grasshopper people to enchanted food to magic movie theaters—but the conventional dangers are no less threatening. Plenty of run-of-the-mill humans in 1935 Kansas don't like black girls or beggars, hobos or outsiders. With a historical note and a Woody Guthrie soundtrack, this novel does a fine job of blending a splendidly grounded Dust Bowl setting with a paranormal adventure. It's really too bad that the cover art depicts a white girl with flyaway hair, rather than Callie as written, a mixed girl who stops passing as white halfway through the story. Callie learns to be open about herself but her own cover art doesn't.
This cracking good mixture of magic and place will leave readers eagerly awaiting the sequel . (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-375-86938-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
Haddix’s insightful tale is a compelling blend of sports, action and mystery.
An elite athlete, KT is on the fast track to softball stardom when her world is turned upside down.
The eighth-grader’s life drastically changes when she collapses while pitching during a major tournament. Awakening to an alternate reality, KT discovers the traditional roles of academics and sports have been reversed. Now, KT’s younger and supremely nonathletic brother, Max, is the focus of family life due to his status on the school’s math team. Yet KT soon realizes she is not the only one who wants out of this other world. Ultimately, she must figure out the common ground among an athlete, a genius and a video gamer and determine what issues drove them into this altered reality. While the premise of the sports/academics switch provides some humorous scenarios, it also conveys a powerful message. Haddix illuminates the pressure middle school–aged students often feel to conform to predetermined roles. Her cleverly constructed tale gives a voice to all students, encouraging them to look beyond the labels of sporty, smart and so on, to define themselves. KT’s transition from athlete to advocate is calculated to inspire readers to celebrate their individuality.
Haddix’s insightful tale is a compelling blend of sports, action and mystery. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-689-87380-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
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