A heartwarming journey.
A young immigrant from Uganda struggles to find his place in Canada.
Patrick “Ace” Katumba isn’t sure how to fit in with his new grade eight classmates in Toronto. Back home in Kampala, Ace had good friends, like soccer teammates Rodney and Ronan, to help him keep up his spirits, especially after his father passed away from cancer. Without those two by his side, school is much harder. There’s a popular boy, Jamie, who isn’t always friendly and makes ignorant, taunting statements about Africa, but he might be the key to Ace’s blending in, just like in the American movies he’s seen. Potential friends Dwayne, Lutti, and Ericksen warn Ace about Jamie, but Ace doubts that the popular kid could be that bad. Meanwhile, his mother and older sister, Olive, worry that Ace focuses too much on socializing rather than studying. With pressures mounting at home and at school, Ace worries that he’ll never be good enough for anyone. Kawooya’s debut novel flows smoothly and is full of charming personalities. The banter between Rodney and Ronan mirrors the playful teasing between Dwayne and Lutti. Many different characters among the multiracial cast offer Ace bits of wisdom that he benefits from. Although his mother sometimes seems like a one-note character, her story adds depth and realism that reflect the plight of many immigrants today.
A heartwarming journey. (author’s note) (Fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: March 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781459417519
Page Count: 160
Publisher: James Lorimer
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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