Stellar writing, perfect pacing, and a sophisticated treatment of universal themes make this a must-read.
In a stunning debut, Van Heidrich recounts living in a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, with her mother and two younger siblings.
Their landlord promised to take care of things while they were in East St. Louis attending her grandfather’s funeral. Instead, 13-year-old Katie and her family return to no electricity, a tank full of dead fish, and their dog locked in her crate, whimpering, and covered in her own waste. They must move again—and quickly. As the family settles into a single hotel room, school provides relief and continuity but also a source of worries: Will anyone realize she’s now living outside the district? Will her friends discover the truth? Biweekly visits with her father only further Katie’s sense of being in an in-between place, heightened by questions of identity: Her mother is Black; her father is White, and her stepmother, whose English is limited, is from Thailand. As her mother bounced between jobs and states in search of new opportunities, Katie strived to support her, suppressing her own emotions. But her mother’s avoidance of the reality that she cannot provide for her children makes it increasingly difficult for Katie to remain silent about her feelings. Complex character development will engage readers, and vivid descriptions of the physical landscape bring the text to life. Van Heidrich masterfully describes her childhood emotions as well her mother’s confusing choices and mental health struggles with compassion and nuance.
Stellar writing, perfect pacing, and a sophisticated treatment of universal themes make this a must-read. (Verse memoir. 9-13)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-012-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
A sincere, genuine, and uplifting book that affirms the importance of being true to yourself.
Middle school drama hits hard in this coming-of-age graphic memoir.
Natural competitor Misty has faced off against the boys for years, always coming out on top, but now they’re moving on without her into the land of full-contact football. Never one to back away from a challenge, Misty resolves to join the team and convinces her best friend, Bree, to join her. While Misty pours herself into practicing, obviously uninterested Bree—who was motivated more by getting to be around boys than doing sports—drifts toward popular queen bee Ava, creating an uneasy dynamic. Feeling estranged from Bree, Misty, who typically doesn’t think much about her appearance, tries to navigate seventh grade—even experimenting with a more traditionally feminine gender expression—while also mastering her newfound talent for tackling and facing hostility from some boys on the team. Readers with uncommon interests will relate to the theme of being the odd one out. Social exclusion and cutting remarks can be traumatic, so it’s therapeutic to see Misty begin to embrace her differences instead of trying to fit in with frenemies who don’t value her. The illustrations are alive with color and rich emotional details, pairing perfectly with the heartfelt storytelling. The husband-and-wife duo’s combined efforts will appeal to fans of Raina Telgemeier and Shannon Hale. Main characters present as White; some background characters read as Black.
A sincere, genuine, and uplifting book that affirms the importance of being true to yourself. (Graphic memoir. 9-13)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-306469-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
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