Rich in Korean mythology and suspense; will keep readers guessing.
Twelve-year-old Ronnie Miller finds answers to her past at a summer camp in Central Washington.
Korean American Ronnie is growing up in Seattle with her widowed dad, who’s a transracial adoptee raised by white parents. She’s full of insecurities about her limited grasp of Korean language and culture. And ever since her birthday, Ronnie hasn’t been able to stop speaking in rhymes. Encouraged by her dad, she agrees to give summer camp a try—at least Jack Park, her best friend, who’s Korean and white, will be there, too. One night around the campfire, a counselor tells a ghost story: The camp was built on the site of the estate of the wealthy Rhee family, six of whom were murdered. Now, the nearby forest is said to be haunted by the ghost of Min-Young, the last daughter and Rhee heir. Ronnie suddenly realizes that she’s already seen the gwishin, or Korean ghost—a pale figure with hollow eyes, stringy black hair, and a red scarf around her neck—standing at the edge of the woods. The plot quickly thickens as Ronnie continues to encounter the gwishin. This deftly crafted, page-turning narrative features a broadly diverse cast. As the story unfolds, a world of dokkaebi (goblins), witches, and magic is revealed, and Ronnie satisfyingly overcomes her self-doubts, figures out the rhyming situation, uncovers a long-running conflict, and returns home with a new sense of self.
Rich in Korean mythology and suspense; will keep readers guessing. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: May 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781368099073
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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
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