An investigation of hard choices and empathy.
There isn’t much going on in Clear Canyon City, the small Arizona town where Avalyn and her parents moved for the climate after her severe asthma nearly killed her.
But all she needs are Dillon and Nan, her two best friends, and her passion for competitive spelling. Though she struggles with her asthma and food and environmental allergies, life is mostly normal—until, all at once, unprecedented dust storms hit and middle school bullying ramps up. These dangers are marked by the arrival of Adam, a sullen and withdrawn new student. He and Avalyn form a growing connection over a love of X-Men comics and feelings of isolation, and his presence and the increasingly severe weather seem to be connected. Avalyn must gather the courage to help protect Adam when no one else can and perhaps share her deepest secret: that she suspects she’s an empath, able to sense the emotions of others. This is a skill she’ll need to draw upon to confront the horrible truth of Adam’s family life. Despite many pop-culture references that seem to stand in for deeper characterization, Avalyn’s difficult, matter-of-fact daily negotiations with her health and the unforgiving desert surroundings are well realized. Her determined sleuthing will draw in readers, and the different abuses Avalyn and Adam each face are presented with care and not glossed over. Most main characters are cued White; Nan is Mexican American.
An investigation of hard choices and empathy. (author’s note, discussion questions) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9780316414234
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Certain to steal hearts.
In this follow-up to 2020’s The One and Only Bob, Ruby the elephant is still living at Wildworld Zoological Park and Sanctuary.
She’s apprehensive about her Tuskday, a rite of passage for young elephants when she’ll give a speech in front of the rest of the herd. Luckily, she can confide in her Uncle Ivan, who is next door in Gorilla World, and Uncle Bob, the dog who lives nearby with human friend Julia. Ruby was born in an unspecified part of Africa, later ending up on display in the mall, where she met Ivan, Bob, and Julia. The unexpected arrival of someone from Ruby’s past life on the savanna revives memories both warmly nostalgic and deeply traumatic. An elephant glossary and Castelao’s charming, illustrated guide to elephant body language help immerse readers in Ruby’s world. Goofy, playful, and mischievous Ruby is fully dimensional, as she has shown her bravery during the many hardships of her young life. Applegate deftly tempers themes of grief and loss with compassion and humor as Ruby finds her place in the herd. The author’s note touches on climate change, the illegal ivory trade, and conservation efforts, but the highly emotive framing of the story through the memories of a bewildered baby elephant emphasizes the impact of lines such as “ ‘in Africa,’ I say softly, ‘there were bad people,’ ” without offering readers a nuanced understanding of the broader context that drives poaching.
Certain to steal hearts. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780063080089
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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