Setting her story in 1923, Buchanan (Gratefully Yours, 1997, etc.) once again explores the plight of a parentless youngster sent by "orphan train" to rural Nebraska. Written simply but with great eloquence, Buchanan's third-person narrative captures the physical hardship and grim isolation of her protagonist's life. Twelve-year-old Hank lost his parents when he was only eight. He and his older brother Peter move in with the Olsons, a pair of mean-spirited farmers. Unable to bear the beatings by the cruel and usually drunk Mr. Olson, Peter runs away leaving his gentle, animal-loving brother defenseless and desperately lonely. Besides the grueling farm chores and his punitive foster parents, Hank must bear the daily cruelty from the kids at school, who laugh at his plight. In one of the novel's many heart-wrenching, gripping moments, Hank wonders why "children thought it was funny that he was an orphan, that his mother and father had died." An unlikely friendship with the town crazy lady/witch, a gentle soul named Molly, who rescues, then nurses, injured animals, reminds Hank that there is kindness in the world. When he finally attacks the school bully, Molly tells him that "that fighting never solved anything" and that if he uses his fists to solve problems, he could become a person like Mr. Olson. Hank eventually frees himself and comes to believe that the brutal man had power over him in part because he allowed it, hardly the circumstance for the majority of children who live with a violent alcoholic, but affecting nonetheless. (Fiction. 8-12)
Pub Date: April 10, 2001
ISBN: 0-374-32836-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
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
Told from the point of view of two warring siblings, this could have been an engaging first chapter book. Unfortunately, the length makes it less likely to appeal to the intended audience. Jessie and Evan are usually good friends as well as sister and brother. But the news that bright Jessie will be skipping a grade to join Evan’s fourth-grade class creates tension. Evan believes himself to be less than clever; Jessie’s emotional maturity doesn’t quite measure up to her intelligence. Rivalry and misunderstandings grow as the two compete to earn the most money in the waning days of summer. The plot rolls along smoothly and readers will be able to both follow the action and feel superior to both main characters as their motivations and misconceptions are clearly displayed. Indeed, a bit more subtlety in characterization might have strengthened the book’s appeal. The final resolution is not entirely believable, but the emphasis on cooperation and understanding is clear. Earnest and potentially successful, but just misses the mark. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 23, 2007
ISBN: 0-618-75043-6
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
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