by Madelyn Rosenberg & Wendy Wan-Long Shang ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 27, 2017
A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy.
In the months leading up to his bar mitzvah, David Da-Wei Horowitz deals with a host of middle school crises, from bickering grandmas and trouble talking to his crush to fearing the possibility of nuclear fallout.
It’s autumn 1983 in northern Virginia, and seventh-grader David Horowitz, who is Chinese and Jewish, is busy preparing for Jan. 21, 1984: when he’s “being bar mitzvahed in front of about a zillion people.” But that’s only if he lives that long, considering that after watching The Day After, he’s worried about what will happen if there’s a nuclear holocaust. David’s growing friendship with cool-kid Scott, a white boy, revolves around their school trivia team and their secret project: digging a fallout shelter. Meanwhile, at home, David’s grandmothers—Wai Po, who lives with them, and Granny M, who lives next door—seem constantly on the verge of starting World War III themselves, bickering over whose culture should take precedence in David’s and his younger sister’s lives. David is a lovable intersectional protagonist, and the authors imbue his story with period-appropriate details, such as the novelty of divorced parents and Cold War fear. There’s a lot to enjoy, but it’s David’s relationships with his two grandmothers that steal the show, especially when the rivals eventually unite to teach him he’s not “half of each” but “all of both.”
A nostalgic and heartwarming period coming-of-age comedy. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-03772-2
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
Share your opinion of this book
More by Madelyn Rosenberg
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Madelyn Rosenberg ; illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 5, 2019
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
More by Jeff Kinney
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
BOOK REVIEW
by Jeff Kinney ; illustrated by Jeff Kinney
More About This Book
SEEN & HEARD
by Marissa Meyer & Joanne Levy ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 29, 2024
A warm bundle of holiday cheer.
In a funny, feel-good tale, 12-year-old twins separated at birth meet by chance and try to pull off a family switch during the December holidays.
The girls, who are cued white, agree that it would be a delicious prank, but each has a personal motive, too: Aviva Davis, who was adopted by a culturally Jewish mom and a Black dad who was raised Christian, wonders what it’s like to celebrate Christmas. Budding author Holly Martin, who was adopted by a white-presenting single mom, sees a golden opportunity to gather experiences for a school writing assignment about facing her fears. In a plot as sweet as a Hanukkah jelly doughnut and twisty as a Christmas cinnamon roll, the pair just manages to bail one another out of a string of sticky situations—both hilarious and otherwise. They both learn something of the customs and meaning of the two holidays while working through tears and laughter—not to mention conflicts sparked by their very different personalities. Everything culminates in a holiday performance at a local senior center that will have readers rising up to cheer them on. Though their history remains tantalizingly mysterious, for the protagonists, who narrate alternating chapters, it’s mission accomplished and more: Aviva emerges feeling more secure in her Jewish identity, while anxious Holly discovers unexpected depths of courage.
A warm bundle of holiday cheer. (song lyrics) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9781250360670
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Share your opinion of this book
More by Marissa Meyer
BOOK REVIEW
by Marissa Meyer ; illustrated by Chuck Gonzales
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.