Nonetheless, a quality nail-biter, if other sources are available to help with the history
This thinly fictionalized tale recounts a hijacking the author survived in 1970.
Fifteen-year-old Anna is grumpy about boarding the plane that will take her from her dad's army posting in Bahrain to her boarding school back in England. Instead, though, her plane is hijacked by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and flown to the Jordanian desert. There, in the unventilated airplane and with scarcely any food or water, Anna spends four days waiting for the British government to release a PFLP prisoner. Blonde Anna, like the majority of her fellow passengers, appears to be white and neither Jewish nor Arab, though a few Arab passengers are let go early. (In this fictionalized account there is no mention of the 56 hostages, primarily Jews, who were segregated from the other passengers and held captive for weeks longer.) A welcome perspective on the difficult historical realities in which terrorism emerges is perhaps overwhelmed by a little too much sympathy; when teen hijacker Jamal asks Anna, if she'd encountered his circumstances, "Might you be here too?" she only thinks, "I can't answer him." Stockholm syndrome is one thing, as is empathy with the expulsion of the Palestinians, but most in Jamal's situation do not, in fact, hijack planes. Meanwhile, several other hijackers exhibit unpleasant Arab stereotypes, including wild or bulging eyes, often screaming in rage.
Nonetheless, a quality nail-biter, if other sources are available to help with the history . (Historical fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-78399-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
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Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
A charming adaptation.
A miscommunication leaves Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert responsible for a plucky, effusive orphan girl instead of the boy they’d expected to help maintain their farm.
Retold in traditional manga format, with right-to-left panel orientation and detailed black-and-white linework, this adaptation is delightfully faithful to the source text. Larger panels establish the idyllic country landscape while subtle text boxes identify the setting—Prince Edward Island, Canada, in the 1870s. The book follows redheaded Anne Shirley from her arrival at Green Gables at 11 to her achievement of a college scholarship. In the intervening years, Anne finds stability, friendship, personal growth, and ambition in Avonlea and in the strict but well-intentioned Cuthbert siblings’ household. The familiar story is enhanced by the exciting new format and lush illustrations. A variety of panel layouts provides visual freshness, maintaining reader interest. Backmatter includes the floor plan of the Green Gables house, as well as interior and exterior views, and notes about research on the actual location. A description of the process of adapting the novel to this visual format indicates the care that was taken to highlight particular elements of the story as well as to remain faithful to the smallest details. Readers who find the original text challenging will welcome this as an aid to comprehension and Anne’s existing fans will savor a fresh perspective on their beloved story. All characters appear to be White.
A charming adaptation. (Graphic fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-947808-18-8
Page Count: 308
Publisher: Manga Classics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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BOOK REVIEW
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