A realistic, visceral portrayal of a boy’s coming-of-age.
After the summer of 1975, life will never be the same for Jimmy, a small-town boy, in this YA novel.
It’s the 1970s in Walnut Creek, in an unnamed U.S. state, long before cellphones and social media, and preteen Jimmy Hamilton daydreams about big league baseball, throws crab apples at the neighbor’s cat, and hopes his mom doesn’t order him to tear down his tree fort. On the plus side, summer and Little League are about to start. If only his mother wouldn’t drag him to the library every week. (Jimmy’s dim view of libraries is a frequent reminder of the book’s subtitle: “for those who hate to read.”) When an accident occurs on his 11th birthday, Jimmy’s summer takes a disappointing turn. In this uneasy mix of small-town Americana (baseball, church, home-baked cookies, playing catch in the backyard with Dad) and coming-of-age angst (angry outbursts, verbal obscenities, a first crush, upturned friendships), Jimmy plans to prove himself on the pitcher’s mound and to keep invading girls and rowdy teens out of his new fort in the woods. The latter intention leads to the novel’s sobering conclusion, involving a shunned homeless man with baseball skills. The book shines brightest in its depictions of baseball through Jimmy’s eyes. At night, the cornfield is “silhouetted against the outfield fence….The magic of the game filled the bleachers,” and the “Bermuda grass was crisp under their spikes.” Less magical is the boys’ oblivious, laughing cruelty; for example, Jimmy disembowels a living snake and pokes a knife into the three-legged frog the snake had consumed. The boys compare the frog to “that cripple with just the one arm who sits in his wheelchair out in front of the grocery store.” Jimmy’s nascent hormonal confusion rings true, however, and there’s heart in the book’s depictions of his caring mom, a girl with empathy and “chocolate eyes,” and the epiphanic ending.
A realistic, visceral portrayal of a boy’s coming-of-age.Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781685134815
Page Count: 220
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 12, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains.
Myla and Peter step into the path of a gang when they unite forces to find Peter’s runaway brother, Randall.
As they follow the graffiti tags that Randall has been painting in honor of the boys’ deceased father, they uncover a sinister history involving stolen diamonds, disappearances, and deaths. It started long ago when the boys’ grandmother, a diamond-cutter, partnered with the head of the gang. She was rumored to have hidden his diamonds before her suspicious death, leaving clues to their whereabouts. Now everyone is searching, including Randall. The duo’s collaboration is initially an unwilling one fraught with misunderstandings. Even after Peter and Myla bond over being the only people of color in an otherwise white school (Myla is Indian-American; mixed-race Peter is Indian, African-American, and white), Peter can’t believe the gang is after Myla. But Myla possesses a necklace that holds a clue. Alternating first-person chapters allow peeks into how Myla, Peter, and Randall unravel the story and decipher clues. Savvy readers will put the pieces together, too, although false leads and red herrings are cleverly interwoven. The action stumbles at times, but it takes place against the rich backdrops of gritty New York City and history-laden Dobbs Ferry and is made all the more colorful by references to graffiti art and parkour.
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains. (Mystery. 10-12)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2296-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Horticulture pays off for an enterprising teen. If almost-14-year-old Jackson can bring his neighbor’s apple orchard back to life, he can keep any profits over $8,000 and become the owner of the orchard. Because Mrs. Nelson has reneged on promises in the past, this time he insists on a signed and witnessed contract. Of course, Jackson hasn’t the least idea how to grow apples. With a helpful library book, some timely advice, weeks of arduous work and the (mostly) willing assistance of his cousins and sisters, Jackson, with intense determination, attempts to produce a healthy crop, overcoming myriad obstacles along the way. With its 1980s-era rural New Mexico setting, complete with many references to contemporary popular culture, the ambience is that of an earlier time. Jackson tells his own story, at once trusting and skeptical, optimistic and despairing. Hawkins has created an enormously appealing character and an engaging plot. He includes detailed diagrams and perhaps more technical information than absolutely necessary, but readers will root for Jackson to win the day. Surprising and absorbing. (Historical fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-547-27977-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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