The authors of Letters From Camp (1999) again take diaristic fiction to another level with a tale of grown-up chicanery told entirely in correspondence, casual sketches, printed ephemera, receipts, newspaper pages, advertisements, transcripts of radio news programs, and journal entries. Despite the lack of a body, everyone in Tyleville believes that slow-witted loner Bob White has killed 11-year-old Perry Keet. Thanks to a new state law, Perry’s classmate Lily gets an insider’s view of the ensuing trial, for she is chosen to sit on Bob White’s jury, even though it means being sequestered and losing weeks of school. Lily’s journal, along with notes and sketches from fellow jurors, link a sheaf of circumstantial evidence that gradually points not to Bob, but to Tyleville’s resident tycoon, Rhett Tyle, and his secret confederate, Anna Conda. They are con artists who had been planning to turn the local zoo’s huge snake collection into a line of designer fashions, but are now preparing for a quick getaway after auctioning off the oeuvre of the zoo’s new, star attraction: a gorilla named Priscilla, who has suddenly started painting recognizable pictures. Sound complicated? That’s only an overview—but the Klises keep it all in the air with expertly timed revelations, distinct character voices, and seemingly bottomless reserves of droll, inventive humor, and readers get a surprisingly credible look at how the jury system works. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: May 31, 2001
ISBN: 0-380-97880-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay.
Renowned Latin American writer Alvarez has created another story about cultural identity, but this time the primary character is 11-year-old Miguel Guzmán.
When Tía Lola arrives to help the family, Miguel and his hermana, Juanita, have just moved from New York City to Vermont with their recently divorced mother. The last thing Miguel wants, as he's trying to fit into a predominantly white community, is a flamboyant aunt who doesn't speak a word of English. Tía Lola, however, knows a language that defies words; she quickly charms and befriends all the neighbors. She can also cook exotic food, dance (anywhere, anytime), plan fun parties, and tell enchanting stories. Eventually, Tía Lola and the children swap English and Spanish ejercicios, but the true lesson is "mutual understanding." Peppered with Spanish words and phrases, Alvarez makes the reader as much a part of the "language" lessons as the characters. This story seamlessly weaves two culturaswhile letting each remain intact, just as Miguel is learning to do with his own life. Like all good stories, this one incorporates a lesson just subtle enough that readers will forget they're being taught, but in the end will understand themselves, and others, a little better, regardless of la lengua nativa—the mother tongue.
Simple, bella, un regalo permenente: simple and beautiful, a gift that will stay. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-80215-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
After Castro’s takeover, nine-year-old Julian and his older brothers are sent away by their fearful parents via “Operation Pedro Pan” to a camp in Miami for Cuban-exile children. Here he discovers that a ruthless bully has essentially been put in charge. Julian is quicker-witted than his brothers or anyone else ever imagined, though, and with his inherent smarts, developing maturity and the help of child and adult friends, he learns to navigate the dynamics of the camp and surroundings and grows from the former baby of the family to independence and self-confidence. A daring rescue mission at the end of the novel will have readers rooting for Julian even as it opens his family’s eyes to his courage and resourcefulness. This autobiographical novel is a well-meaning, fast-paced and often exciting read, though at times the writing feels choppy. It will introduce readers to a not-so-distant period whose echoes are still felt today and inspire admiration for young people who had to be brave despite frightening and lonely odds. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 3, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-59643-168-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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