Well-rounded characters and an interesting concept make this a solid read.
George’s beloved dog, Bart, seems to always know when the Cape Cod grade schooler will be returning home and waits eagerly for his arrival.
Encouraged by Banks’ co-author, biologist Dr. Rupert Sheldrake, author of the real-life book Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home (1999), with whom he exchanges many emails, George decides to begin a scientific investigation of his dog’s skill for a school project. Lester, a new classmate, has just moved into the neighborhood and is really missing his former home in Denver. He’s an upbeat kid who’s determined, most of the time, to try to make the best of his new situation. Lester’s dog also seems able to anticipate when he’ll come home. Coincidentally, George’s best friend, Kyra, recently moved away. While the setup is both convenient and obvious—two needy boys with similar interests who could do much to help each other out but can’t seem to find their way there—it doesn’t diminish the satisfaction of watching that process happen. George and Lester manage their investigation into human-animal telepathy in a way that is both valuable and inspiring. Lester, who spends a lot of his time repeating the mantra “Moving is fun. Change can be positive,” is particularly appealing, but nearly all of the attractively genial characters are convincingly developed.
Well-rounded characters and an interesting concept make this a solid read. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: July 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-38008-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Frances Foster/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals.
Is dolphin-assisted therapy so beneficial to patients that it’s worth keeping a wild dolphin captive?
Twelve-year-old Lily has lived with her emotionally distant oncologist stepfather and a succession of nannies since her mother died in a car accident two years ago. Nannies leave because of the difficulty of caring for Adam, Lily’s severely autistic 4-year-old half brother. The newest, Suzanne, seems promising, but Lily is tired of feeling like a planet orbiting the sun Adam. When she meets blind Zoe, who will attend the same private middle school as Lily in the fall, Lily’s happy to have a friend. However, Zoe’s take on the plight of the captive dolphin, Nori, used in Adam’s therapy opens Lily’s eyes. She knows she must use her influence over her stepfather, who is consulting on Nori’s treatment for cancer (caused by an oil spill), to free the animal. Lily’s got several fine lines to walk, as she works to hold onto her new friend, convince her stepfather of the rightness of releasing Nori, and do what’s best for Adam. In her newest exploration of animal-human relationships, Rorby’s lonely, mature heroine faces tough but realistic situations. Siblings of children on the spectrum will identify with Lily. If the tale flirts with sentimentality and some of the characters are strident in their views, the whole never feels maudlin or didactic.
Dolphin lovers will appreciate this look at our complicated relationship with these marine mammals. (Fiction. 10-13)Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-545-67605-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
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