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CRUSH STUFF.

From the Girl Stuff series , Vol. 2

Lighthearted fare for tweens.

The nesties (next-door besties) are back and focused, minus some boy distractions, on changing the location of the seventh grade field trip.

Fonda, Drew, and Ruthie from Girl Stuff. (2021) are still finding their place at Poplar Middle School. This year, Fonda is committed to changing the site of the Seventh Grade Slopover—an overnight field trip to a farm where the students clean out barns. She convinces the principal of the need for a new venue and pitches Catalina Island. Unfortunately, Fonda presents her argument in front of two students who suggest other sites: Henry wants Camp Pendleton, and Ava prefers the set of the TV show Makeover Magic. Now the three are in competition, each trying to get a majority of students behind their choice. For Fonda, winning means not only a less-stinky trip, but a spot out of the shadows cast by her popular older sisters. Ruthie and Drew are slightly less driven, distracted by crushes and their desires to bring their circles of friends together. Thanks to the advice of Fonda’s mother, readers will learn volumes about campaigning. The shenanigans that erupt during the competition add color, as does Fonda’s wordplay. The sibling rivalry, drama between cliques, and early explorations of romance all ring true. Best of all, each of the nesties’ storylines ends on a sweet note. The main cast defaults to White.

Lighthearted fare for tweens. (Fiction. 9-13)

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-984815-01-9

Page Count: 240

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021

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THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

From the School for Good and Evil series , Vol. 1

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.

Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.

Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and  her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).

Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)

Pub Date: May 14, 2013

ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013

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CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE

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

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