Moon, Texas, in 1968: the year that 11-year-old Jaynell’s widowed Grandpap moves in. Fearing that he is becoming senile, Jaynell is instructed to keep an eye on Grandpap at all times. She does so with pleasure because it represents both a thrilling invitation to spy and an opportunity to be with her beloved grandfather. Before Grandpap dies (midway through the book), he buys a ’62 Cadillac and teaches Jaynell the rudiments of driving. He also gives his own home to the destitute Pickens family whose father, not unlike Grandpap, is overcoming alcoholism. The setup proceeds at a pace as leisurely as Grandpap’s rounds in his Cadillac, meandering gently through issues of gender, class, alcoholism, and family secrets. Subtle narrative tension threads through the story’s second half as Jaynell’s family argues over Grandpap’s “estate.” Jaynell, the only one who knows that Grandpap intended the Pickens family to have his home, resents the loss of the “homeplace.” Bitterness prevents Jaynell from revealing Grandpap’s intentions when the relatives talk about evicting the Pickenses; a tragedy forces her to reveal the truth. This is bustlingly peopled with colorful, often funny characters. Not all are as interestingly complex as Jaynell’s quiet mother who is coping with her husband’s ’60s-era paternalism and her family’s greed in a tentative but definite way. As always, the author has a reliable grasp on time and place. If the thematic connections are sometimes tenuous, to Holt’s credit the few highly dramatic incidents are not used to manipulate either plot or readers. While this is inherently nostalgic and tenderhearted, it never becomes maudlin and it will be welcomed by fans of Holt’s 1999 National Book Award–winning When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23402-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read.
Tyler is the son of generations of Vermont dairy farmers.
Mari is the Mexican-born daughter of undocumented migrant laborers whose mother has vanished in a perilous border crossing. When Tyler’s father is disabled in an accident, the only way the family can afford to keep the farm is by hiring Mari’s family. As Tyler and Mari’s friendship grows, the normal tensions of middle-school boy-girl friendships are complicated by philosophical and political truths. Tyler wonders how he can be a patriot while his family breaks the law. Mari worries about her vanished mother and lives in fear that she will be separated from her American-born sisters if la migra comes. Unashamedly didactic, Alvarez’s novel effectively complicates simple equivalencies between what’s illegal and what’s wrong. Mari’s experience is harrowing, with implied atrocities and immigration raids, but equally full of good people doing the best they can. The two children find hope despite the unhappily realistic conclusions to their troubles, in a story which sees the best in humanity alongside grim realities.
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-85838-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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