An emotionally authentic representation of the legacy of gun violence.
Rosengren’s middle-grade novel aptly explores the aftermath of a tragedy and its impact on one family.
One evening, Wisconsinite Mackenzie “Mac” Lawrence goes for a run and returns home late for dinner. Although that’s typical behavior for Mac since his father, a paramedic, was shot at Prairie View Mall two years ago, his twin sister Tessa is angry that he’s not at home, and his mother and grandparents fear that he’s gotten into some kind of trouble. Soon after his return, the twins’ mother announces her engagement to her partner, Simon, and Mac becomes enraged, threatening to leave if she goes through with it. Soon, Mac runs away, leaving a striking note on his laptop: “I MEANT WHAT I SAID!” The book then separately follows the close third-person perspectives of Mac and Tessa in alternating chapters. Rosengren offers a story that illustrates how family relationships undergo change following trauma and loss. Specifically, the narrative emphasizes how Tessa and Mac’s once-close relationship has become distant and tense and how each processes their father’s death and their mother’s engagement differently. Rosengren uses subtle linking strategies—such as a motif of darkness at the end of one section and the beginning of another—to show how the two main characters remain connected. The alternating storytelling style also works well to move the plot forward, although there are moments when Mac’s reactions feel extreme, and Tessa is always cast as the maternal, responsible person in her family. Overall, though, the work effectively shows how the twins’ relationships with their father have shaped how each teen thinks. At the end, Rosengren ties up loose ends in a satisfying manner.
An emotionally authentic representation of the legacy of gun violence.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-59598-904-8
Page Count: 235
Publisher: Three Towers Press
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and...
Catrina narrates the story of her mixed-race (Latino/white) family’s move from Southern California to Bahía de la Luna on the Northern California coast.
Dad has a new job, but it’s little sister Maya’s lungs that motivate the move: she has had cystic fibrosis since birth—a degenerative breathing condition. Despite her health, Maya loves adventure, even if her lungs suffer for it and even when Cat must follow to keep her safe. When Carlos, a tall, brown, and handsome teen Ghost Tour guide introduces the sisters to the Bahía ghosts—most of whom were Spanish-speaking Mexicans when alive—they fascinate Maya and she them, but the terrified Cat wants only to get herself and Maya back to safety. When the ghost adventure leads to Maya’s hospitalization, Cat blames both herself and Carlos, which makes seeing him at school difficult. As Cat awakens to the meaning of Halloween and Day of the Dead in this strange new home, she comes to understand the importance of the ghosts both to herself and to Maya. Telgemeier neatly balances enough issues that a lesser artist would split them into separate stories and delivers as much delight textually as visually. The backmatter includes snippets from Telgemeier’s sketchbook and a photo of her in Día makeup.
Telgemeier’s bold colors, superior visual storytelling, and unusual subject matter will keep readers emotionally engaged and unable to put down this compelling tale. (Graphic fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-54061-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2016
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