A tangled, overpopulated collection that shines only in parts.
An ambitious collection of interwoven short stories about negotiating Christian values in a corrupt, violent world.
Straddling diners, gas stations, urban apartments and the war in Iraq, these stories tackle the question of faith in desperate times. Lost, struggling characters look for meaning: a young line cook wants to know more about patience; a drug-addled couple fights about the substance keeping them from their dreams; an Army photographer challenges his crass companions with a stark display of his Christian faith. There’s striking interconnectedness, too: Zephan, the cocaine-addicted couple’s son, later suffers an accident when another character chases a deer into his path; Simon abandons his sister Grace on the same night she was attacked in an earlier story; and a troubled man’s decision to hold up a Circle K gas station echoes through later stories. Fate and free will are called into play, as Adren, David and Victor travel the world looking for visionaries who can predict tragedy before it strikes. The visionaries see everything from the robbery at the Circle K to the 9/11 attacks, and the three visionary hunters stand on the edge of manipulating this power. By the collection’s end, though, faith in God emerges as everyone’s only hope for coping with life. With 22 stories, some of the collection’s interconnectivity is lost in the sheer volume. There are only a few clues to mark that a character in one story will be important in another, so readers may find themselves constantly flipping back to check names and incidents. Adding to the confusion, many characters hear voices, and several have symbolic names (Pope and Priest rob a bank, but it’s the witness Trevor who spiritually schools them). The most original plotline—the quest of the visionary hunters—isn’t fully realized until halfway through the collection. There are bright spots, though, of quirky but straightforward storytelling, as with “The Problem With My Shoes,” which delightfully begins: “I knew I was in trouble when my shoes started talking to me.”
A tangled, overpopulated collection that shines only in parts.Pub Date: Nov. 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988378407
Page Count: 338
Publisher: One Way Street Production
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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