Still, the science-fiction theme provides an interesting twist to a heartfelt depiction of a summer of emerging...
After huge craft that might be alien spaceships appear in the skies above remote Allagash, Maine, 11-year-old Roberta investigates.
Working with a backdrop of an actual reported abduction by aliens of four men in 1976, which adds a tantalizing level of reality, in her first children’s book Pelletier explores the possibilities. Allagash, a remote, seemingly uber-safe town, provides the perfect setting for a summer of exploration. Roberta makes tentative peace with her teasing older brother and learns to manage her grief after her beloved grandfather’s death, while her best friend, Marilee, begins to accept her father’s impending marriage—the ultimate confirmation that her divorced parents will never reunite. Amid this emotional turmoil, both girls freely roam the outdoor world, ultimately setting a trap for aliens. Roberta’s first-person narration is believably authentic, and the mysterious spacecraft sightings add a modicum of suspense that weaves enticingly in and out of common coming-of-age themes. When the girls finally experience an actual encounter, it’s something of a letdown; the mystery all dissolves into a not-very-satisfying, rather predictable climax. Altogether more amusing is the fact that everyone in town knows each other very well; Roberta’s entertaining comments on fellow Allagashians will ring true for village residents everywhere.
Still, the science-fiction theme provides an interesting twist to a heartfelt depiction of a summer of emerging self-realization. (Science fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4022-8578-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Well-educated American boys from privileged families have abundant options for college and career. For Chiko, their Burmese counterpart, there are no good choices. There is never enough to eat, and his family lives in constant fear of the military regime that has imprisoned Chiko’s physician father. Soon Chiko is commandeered by the army, trained to hunt down members of the Karenni ethnic minority. Tai, another “recruit,” uses his streetwise survival skills to help them both survive. Meanwhile, Tu Reh, a Karenni youth whose village was torched by the Burmese Army, has been chosen for his first military mission in his people’s resistance movement. How the boys meet and what comes of it is the crux of this multi-voiced novel. While Perkins doesn’t sugarcoat her subject—coming of age in a brutal, fascistic society—this is a gentle story with a lot of heart, suitable for younger readers than the subject matter might suggest. It answers the question, “What is it like to be a child soldier?” clearly, but with hope. (author’s note, historical note) (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-58089-328-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
A satisfying story of family, friendship and small-town cooperation in a 21st-century world.
Sent to stay with octogenarian relatives for the summer, 14-year-old Mike ends up coordinating a community drive to raise $40,000 for the adoption of a Romanian orphan. He’ll never be his dad's kind of engineer, but he learns he’s great at human engineering.
Mike’s math learning disability is matched by his widower father's lack of social competence; the Giant Genius can’t even reliably remember his son’s name. Like many of the folks the boy comes to know in Do Over, Penn.—his great-uncle Poppy silent in his chair, the multiply pierced-and-tattooed Gladys from the bank and “a homeless guy” who calls himself Past—Mike feels like a failure. But in spite of his own lack of confidence, he provides the kick start they need to cope with their losses and contribute to the campaign. Using the Internet (especially YouTube), Mike makes use of town talents and his own webpage design skills and entrepreneurial imagination. Math-definition chapter headings (Compatible Numbers, Zero Property, Tessellations) turn out to apply well to human actions in this well-paced, first-person narrative. Erskine described Asperger’s syndrome from the inside in Mockingbird (2010). Here, it’s a likely cause for the rift between father and son touchingly mended at the novel's cinematic conclusion.
A satisfying story of family, friendship and small-town cooperation in a 21st-century world. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: June 9, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25505-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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