An entertaining, contemporary coming-of-age tale that subtly draws from an archetypal well.
A seventh grader with an unfortunate last name tries to survive junior high hazing in this middle-grade novel.
As his first year at Robert Frost Junior High in Los Angeles begins, Max Odor has two chief worries, neither of them about academics. The first is the inevitable giggling about his name and having to correct every new teacher’s pronunciation (it’s “Odder”). The second is the challenge, apparently for boys only, known as the Ninth-Grade Lawn. Any seventh grader who dares to step on it will be pounced upon by ninth grade boys and stuffed in a trash can. Max is a special target because his older brother, Jason, is a legend: “The only seventh grader ever to make it across the lawn untouched.” A senior now, Jason is star running back—and the unrelenting focus of the brothers’ football-obsessed dad, which has serious consequences. More problems arise for Max, like having to shower with classmates after gym or getting the attention of Emily Brookings, the prettiest girl in school. Max finds encouragement in sources like novels recommended by the school librarian and the support of his friends. With their help, Max might be able to pull off a win. Trine, who’s written several books for children and middle schoolers, enters sympathetically into Max’s typical junior high problems. Though often light and amusing, with comical elements like Max’s name or Halloween hijinks with friends, the story is balanced with more earnest concerns. Max’s rueful voice downplays the lawn challenge, but the ordeal could be said to serve as a hero’s journey; the school librarian is a classic wise-old-man figure, and by engaging with his reading suggestions (such as The Red Badge of Courage), Max matures his sense of self.
An entertaining, contemporary coming-of-age tale that subtly draws from an archetypal well.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-7339589-6-7
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Malamute Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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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