Another voice in the chorus of calls to action—earnest and on target but more likely to be bought than read.
From an activist who sent a protest letter to President Ronald Reagan when she was 5, a tally of urgent worldwide concerns and issues, with pointed calls to get the lead out.
Clinton traces her lifelong involvement in social and environmental causes to family and to the classic 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth (1989). She intersperses carefully researched factual surveys and admiring profiles of other (mostly) young activists with her own experiences and opinions. Though these personal notes are fairly engaging, overall the nine topical chapters make dry reading: “Poverty and stunting are deeply intertwined. Parents living in extreme poverty are more likely to have children who suffer from stunting. Children who are stunted generally grow up less physically and mentally strong…,” etc. She also sidesteps complexity by, for instance, not mentioning complaints about Heifer International’s deceptive donation model or ever, despite discussion of human trafficking, using the words “rape” or (except in the section on HIV/AIDS) “sex.” Nor does she make it easy for young people patient enough to stay the course to strike out on their own. Though the many contact URLs that are buried in the narrative are at least repeated at the ends of their respective chapters, they come in bulleted lists of suggestions that tend toward either repetitive boilerplate (“Talk to your family and at least three friends…”) or generalities like “Stay away from secondhand smoke.” Still, everything here is, or had better be, of compelling concern to young people, and her concluding “It’s better to get caught trying” is inarguable if not exactly electric.
Another voice in the chorus of calls to action—earnest and on target but more likely to be bought than read. (map, charts, infographics, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-399-17612-8
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This hopeful adventure leaves an indelible mark.
A rare disorder elicits fear in a young Black artist with a unique sense of the world.
Seventh grader Etta’s Quiet Days are becoming more frequent and, frankly, irritating since her “maybe-diagnosis” of Ménière’s disease in both her ears. Her parents are monitoring her diet, vigilant about stressors, and learning ASL. In contrast to Etta’s Loud Days, not being able to hear sometimes makes it easier to focus on her comic book about Invincible Girl (the novel includes some enticing panels featuring Etta’s work). But, as peculiar weather patterns begin to overwhelm her Chicago neighborhood and exacerbate her allergies, the corresponding tinnitus and vertigo as well as the increased anxiety from everyone around her leave Etta feeling hopeless. Even meeting Eleazar, an artsy new Colombian friend with an adorable goldendoodle, leads to doubts about her abilities to communicate—Eleazar is also still learning English—and her future with Ménière’s. When Eleazar’s dog gets lost on a magical train that is linked to the weird weather, the two must traverse the train cars, solve mysteries, and overcome their fears to fix what’s broken and heal what can’t be fixed. Just like the magical challenges, their journey yields great emotional rewards. Even as Etta and Eleazar make new connections, losses—of family, hearing, and home—are somber reminders of life’s challenges. With snappy narration that’s rich in sensory detail and metaphor, readers progress through well-paced storytelling that is ethereal and artfully inclusive.
This hopeful adventure leaves an indelible mark. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-6837-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A poignant and relevant retelling of a child immigrant’s struggle to recover from an accident and feel at home in America.
In the 1960s, Ruthie Mizrahi, a young Jewish Cuban immigrant to New York City, spends nearly a year observing her family and friends from her bed.
Before the accident, Ruthie’s chief goals are to graduate out of the “dumb class” for remedial students, to convince her parents to buy her go-go boots, and to play hopscotch with other kids in her Queens apartment building. But after Papi’s Oldsmobile is involved in a fatal multicar collision, Ruthie’s leg is severely broken. The doctor opts to immobilize both legs in a body cast that covers Ruthie from chest to toes. Bedridden and lonely, Ruthie knows she’s “lucky” to be alive, but she’s also “broken.” She begins collecting stories from her Jewban grandparents; her fellow young immigrant friends, Belgian Danielle and Indian Ramu; her “flower power” tutor, Joy; and her vibrant Mexican neighbor, Chicho, an artist who teaches her about Frida Kahlo. Ruthie also prays and writes letters to God, Shiva, and Kahlo, asking them for guidance, healing, and forgiveness. A cultural anthropologist and poet, the author based the book on her own childhood experiences, so it’s unsurprising that Ruthie’s story rings true. The language is lyrical and rich, the intersectionality—ethnicity, religion, class, gender—insightful, and the story remarkably engaging, even though it takes place primarily in the island of Ruthie’s bedroom.
A poignant and relevant retelling of a child immigrant’s struggle to recover from an accident and feel at home in America. (Historical fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: April 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-54644-0
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
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