Humorous and well-paced, with relatable preteen characters and an authentic family dynamic.
A boy with a secret crush experiences a day of high hopes and messy mishaps in Otey’s middle-grade novel.
Eleven-year-old Izzy is sure that today will be amazing: Not only will he be singing solo in the school concert, but a girl sent him a note saying that she likes him and will reveal her identity at lunch. Izzy is certain that it will be cute Kristen; what could go wrong? Plenty, as it turns out in this funny and relatable novel about one eventful day in Izzy’s life. Relayed hour by hour, Izzy’s day begins at 6 a.m. Getting ready for school, he vies with his three older siblings for the only bathroom, where, hoping to impress Kristen, he uses an entire bottle of chocolate-scented body wash, earning his siblings’ snickers and gibes. An unsightly lump on his forehead (caused when his sister’s car hit a stop sign), and a painful dodgeball incident don’t help his appearance, and the explosive result of a vinegar-fueled science experiment leaves him smelling like a chocolate-covered pickle. Daydreaming about Kristen, Izzy just can’t concentrate. The mystery girl is a no-show; Izzy’s spirits nosedive, and his best friend Jess scolds him for spreading his “funky melted-chocolate-scented mood all around.” When the concert rehearsal starts, Izzy may have lost his voice along with his confidence. This light-hearted, empathetic observation of preteen angst ends Izzy’s day at 9 p.m., after his surprise encounter with his secret admirer, comic mayhem unleashed by Izzy’s toddler brother at a restaurant, and an understated but meaningful subplot involving Izzy’s grandfather. The interactions among Izzy and his siblings—the teasing, complaints, and squabbles—clearly rest on a foundation of familial caring: “My family is crazy and weird, but I love them,” Izzy confesses. The book’s lively young characters leap off the page, enhanced by Winkler’s black-and-white spot illustrations and design elements in the text that add emphasis. The book ends with instructions for Izzy’s science experiment and a teaser for a sequel.
Humorous and well-paced, with relatable preteen characters and an authentic family dynamic.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781736130377
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Phoenix Media & Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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