Unconvincing.
An English preteen’s impulsive wish that he’d never been born is granted.
For Maxwell, 12, home is anything but tranquil: His parents fight constantly; his nerdy sister, Bex, 15, ignores him. His beloved dog, Monster, provokes complaints from neighbors. Maxwell relieves stress by disparaging his (only) school friend, Charlie Kapoor. (While most characters default to white, Charlie’s name and home cuisine imply South Asian ancestry.) Maxwell’s prizewinning portrait of an elderly, forgetful neighbor, Reg, earned Maxwell prestige, benefiting his school financially. During an announcement regarding the school’s centennial celebration, with the inclusion of the filming of a popular TV show segment that’s meant to be an exciting surprise, Maxwell deliberately gives the secret away. After bullying and injuring Charlie in PE, Maxwell’s banned from the celebration but disrupts the event with catastrophic results. He flees to Reg, vents his misery, and, via a mysterious artifact, erases himself from his life. He finds himself in a Maxwell-free world where his parents have divorced, his dad is miserable, and Bex shoplifts. Worse, Monster doesn’t even exist. The premise closely tracks Frank Capra’s 1946 film, It’s a Wonderful Life. Like George Bailey, Maxwell’s shown the difference his past good deeds made to others through learning their fates in a world where he’s never existed. But slapdash execution, inconsistent plotting, and Maxwell himself hinder reader buy-in. His prior good deeds mainly reflect being in the right place at the right time; the Maxwell readers will remember is a selfish, manipulative bully.
Unconvincing. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-58956-6
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
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