A “yeah, sure” if there ever was one.
Alley and Rex make some more mischief.
Effervescent sixth grader Alley and bunny-suited fourth grade genius Rex return for more laughs in this sequel to last year’s promising Alley & Rex (2021). This time the pals team up to help each other survive gym class and save breakfast. Rex is loath to shed his bunny suit, but the PE teacher is insistent that he change into standard gym attire. Meanwhile, Alley is desperate to save the free breakfast cart that’s been closed down due to budget cuts. Hilarity, tomfoolery, and elaborate heists ensue as the inseparable pals work toward making smart choices and finding quality solutions to their problems. Fans of the series opener will find plenty to enjoy here. Those who bristled at Alley’s boisterous energy levels in the earlier installment will once again be longing for a tranquilizer dart. The narrative is better paced, and the characterization remains decent. While the story never rises to anything special, there’s solid workmanship on display; this is a book that will fill out a reader’s summer reading log or help pass a dull afternoon. The jokes are fun, the story has just the right dash of mayhem, and the titular pals are engaging enough to keep readers willing to come back for more. Based on cover art, Alley presents as White and Rex is brown-skinned; Alley is cued as Jewish.
A “yeah, sure” if there ever was one. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-9547-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean.
A 12-year-old copes with a brain tumor.
Maddie likes potatoes and fake mustaches. Kids at school are nice (except one whom readers will see instantly is a bully); soon they’ll get to perform Shakespeare scenes in a unit they’ve all been looking forward to. But recent dysfunctions in Maddie’s arm and leg mean, stunningly, that she has a brain tumor. She has two surgeries, the first successful, the second taking place after the book’s end, leaving readers hanging. The tumor’s not malignant, but it—or the surgeries—could cause sight loss, personality change, or death. The descriptions of surgery aren’t for the faint of heart. The authors—parents of a real-life Maddie who really had a brain tumor—imbue fictional Maddie’s first-person narration with quirky turns of phrase (“For the love of potatoes!”) and whimsy (she imagines her medical battles as epic fantasy fights and pretends MRI stands for Mustard Rat from Indiana or Mustaches Rock Importantly), but they also portray her as a model sick kid. She’s frightened but never acts out, snaps, or resists. Her most frequent commentary about the tumor, having her skull opened, and the possibility of death is “Boo” or “Super boo.” She even shoulders the bully’s redemption. Maddie and most characters are white; one cringe-inducing hallucinatory surgery dream involves “chanting island natives” and a “witch doctor lady.”
Medically, both squicky and hopeful; emotionally, unbelievably squeaky-clean. (authors’ note, discussion questions) (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62972-330-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fun, honest, and uplifting: applause!
An aspiring actor who uses a manual wheelchair is determined to land a part in a community theater production.
Moving cross-country from California to New Jersey and leaving her best friend, Chloe, behind is hard enough for Nat. Even worse, the new house doesn’t feel like home, and her parents are as overprotective as ever. When Nat, an avid fan of musicals, spots an advertisement for the local theater’s production of Wicked, she’s sure that nabbing a part will make her feel at home. But her father wants her to focus on wheelchair racing, and her mother doubts her ability to fit in; it’s up to Nat to prove she can take the stage. The authors know their stuff—Tony Award–winner Stroker was the first wheelchair user to be cast in a Broadway play, and Davidowitz is a playwright—and it shows. Nat’s relationship with her loving but overbearing parents rings perceptively and painfully true, as does her frustration with inaccessible venues and patronizing attitudes. Her enthusiasm for the theater is infectious, but readers needn’t be theater buffs to relate to her fear of growing apart from Chloe and her desire for independence. A quirky cast of secondary characters lends humor, support, and a little romance as they illustrate the fun and rigor of acting. Nat defaults to White; the secondary cast is somewhat diverse.
Fun, honest, and uplifting: applause! (authors’ note) (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: April 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4197-4393-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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