An astounding array of poems about the American identity, representing the events and attitudes that have helped shape a unique history, by the compiler of Fairy Tales from Eastern Europe (1991). War, race, injustice, the American language and landscape all inspire deeply felt emotions, from fierce patriotism to fiery outrage. ``The Battle Hymn of the Republic'' co-exists with e.e. cummings' ``heroic happy dead.'' Walt Whitman sings America, and Langston Hughes, Ezra Pound, and Allen Ginsberg sing Walt Whitman. There's John Greenleaf Whittier's brave ``Barbara Frietchie,'' and Ogden Nash's Barbara Frietchie, who ``. . .scratched/When she was itchy.'' The selections are diverse, incisive, and crisply written; some feature McCurdy's sturdy images, carved in black against the white page, more decoration than scenery, and mutely leaving readers to fall upon the poems with their own interpretations intact. In art and word, the America that emerges is compelling in all its contradictions. (further reading, indices of first lines, titles, subject, and poets) (Poetry. 10-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-670-86150-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
Disaster tourism masquerading as romance. Three years after the disappearance of her mother’s plane over the Indian Ocean, California girl Sienna is still barely functional. She’s curtailed surfing, friendships and travel. Sienna’s psychiatrist father is off to Indonesia to do relief work with tsunami orphans, and he’s dragging Sienna along. He claims he needs her help, but he clearly believes in philanthropy as therapy. Once in Indonesia, Sienna is assaulted by difference: Islam, Indonesian culture, race and poverty merge in her perceptions into a sometimes-disgusting mess of exoticism. The exotic becomes appealing when she meets Deni, the super-cute orphanage bad boy. Deni calls her rambat kuning, “yellow hair,” and sneaks her out of the orphanage for forbidden tours of town. If only she can help Deni—and squeeze in a few secret alleyway makeout sessions—Sienna will be happy. Convenient resolution brings healing to Sienna and family to Deni, returning each to his and her God-given lot in life. Well-meaning, but ultimately about slumming in disaster zones for a summer’s recuperative fun. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25163-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2010
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