In the irrepressible, bittersweet style of his novels, Zindel offers an autobiographical vignette from his teen years, when he and his mother and sister shared a house in the Staten Island community of Travis with a fatherless Italian family whose warmhearted ``Nonno [grandfather] Frankie'' was the original for Zindel's The Pigman (1968). Zindel's mother was a parent to endure: histrionically suicidal, a pathological man-hater, flighty, suspicious, improvident. Somehow, Zindel survived with his humor not only intact but enriched by deflecting her bizarre behavior with his own extraordinary intelligence and wit. Despite Mom's decree that they stay away from the Vivonas, the Zindels were soon sharing the delectable meals prepared by Nonna Mamie, while Nonno Frankie shared jokes, planted a garden, and counseled Paul on battling his bullying classmates. Meanwhile, Paul found a good friend in Jennifer, who was bitterly but accurately prescient about her prospects for getting out of ``dead-end'' Travis, and Nonno encouraged them both: ``Each of you is the only one of you who will ever dance your own tarantella...listen to yourself, then you don't think of Death anymore! You think of Life!'' The real life reads so like Zindel's fiction that it's hard to believe it's all true—or that the fiction isn't. It hardly matters: the author reveals a sensitive, observant boy, struggling to reach out to kindred spirits and learning to confront pain with his inimitable brand of humor. Literal or not, there's a lot of truth in that. Photos not seen. (Autobiography. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-020857-0
Page Count: 160
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1992
An enviable hero and appealing wish fulfillment that’s spiced with teen-friendship drama.
When her family moves to London, an American teen adjusts to a new school in this middle-grade novel.
Previously, 12-year-old Mackenzie Blue Carmichael, called Zee, detailed her seventh grade escapades in the five-volume Mackenzie Blue series. Now a year older and in the eighth grade, the red-haired, blue-eyed, olive-skinned Zee faces a major life change because her father’s job is taking the family to London from Los Angeles. Besides leaving behind sunny skies for London fog, Zee must say goodbye to Chloe Lawrence-Johnson, her best friend from Brookdale Academy. Another big change is that Zee will be attending a boarding school, The Hollows Creative Arts Academy, in the Cotswolds. That’s a bit intimidating, but the school has some huge advantages, especially its focus on the arts. She can concentrate on her singing and songwriting while studying academic subjects. Plus, her Brookdale friend Ally Stern now lives in Paris, just two hours away. Despite her anxieties, Zee makes several friends quickly. Unexpectedly, she is taken into the charmed circle of Izzy Matthews, a popular YouTuber, and hits it off with the school’s hottest ninth grade boy, the posh Archibald “Archie” Saint John the Fourth, a fellow songwriter. But hurdles remain, such as staying in touch with Chloe across time zones. Ally, too, has been mysteriously distant, canceling a planned Paris rendezvous for unclear reasons. Wells (now writing with Smith) continues the Mackenzie Blue series under a new umbrella title. Transplanting Zee to England allows for a fresh array of challenges and adventures, and American readers will likely enjoy learning about cultural differences with Britain. (Some references are off target; for example, the name St. John isn’t spelled “Saint John.”) Zee has a lively voice that makes her sound like a friend any teen would like to have, although few readers will be able to relate to the characters’ wealthy lives. Teens own expensive, high-status items like Alexander McQueen sneakers, and their school is so far out of reach for most that it might as well be Hogwarts. These elements are certainly entertaining as an aspirational fantasy, though Zee’s troubles seem lightweight indeed among so much privilege. The fast-paced plot ends rather abruptly just as it feels as if Zee’s story is really getting started; the tale continues in Book 2. Jamison supplies monochrome illustrations that deftly convey the teens’ expressive emotions.
An enviable hero and appealing wish fulfillment that’s spiced with teen-friendship drama.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 167
Publisher: West Margin Press
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A well-written, succinct summary covers the major controversies over use or preservation. Distinguishing among conservationists who support ``multiple use'' (including recreation, logging, and mining), preservationists who want to keep wild land untouched, and environmentalists who link preservation to global environmental problems, Dolan presents the history of national parks, forests, and wilderness areas and the threats they face. To personalize the issues, he includes italicized examples: e.g., smog might keep the reader from seeing much at the Grand Canyon. But Dolan's ideas for avoiding crowding problems suffer from somewhat patronizing phrasing, and parts of the book are already dated: some species of salmon have been declared endangered (Dolan does mention the effects of this decision), and no mention is made of Bush's attempt to redefine wetlands to allow housing development, a major flip-flop for the ``environmental president.'' In general, though, Dolan fairly presents all sides, calling in the end for compromise. Extensive source notes and bibliography; b&w photo insert and index not seen. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-531-11062-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
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