Fast-paced and full of questions, answers, more questions—and heart.
As Alice, Millie, and Jeremy pursue different goals, their lives entangle irrevocably—for better and worse.
Large, wild-haired, seemingly white Alice’s confirmation that she has nonhuman blood further fuels her desire to join the Yare, or Bigfoot—unknown to most of the world—who live hidden deep in New York woods. Meanwhile, small, furry Millie, who longs to completely abandon her simple Yare life, uses the help of Alice and of snobbish human Jessica to get a singing audition for the smash TV show The Next Stage. The three girls met at an unusual boarding school, Experimental Center for Love and Learning. Simultaneously, a secret U.S. government agency pressures No-Fur (human) Jeremy and his friend Jo, who uses a wheelchair, to aid its mission to capture members of the Yare Tribe. The plot twists and turns around the realistically portrayed adolescents, while readers also mull cultural clashes, the intricacies of friendship and betrayals, the ironies of people’s fantasies, and the unexpected revelations mothers make to daughters. Details of New York City, plenty of humor, and even a swipe at the current White House administration add fun to this spirited cliffhanger. And does Yare behavior mock or support “yare’s” nautical meaning? Although some questions are resolved, readers will be impatient for the third novel. Most characters are white; Millie’s mother is coppery-golden–skinned.
Fast-paced and full of questions, answers, more questions—and heart. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7077-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
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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