A solid story of summer growth and exploration.
The fish-out-of-water class divide tale in reverse.
Having enrolled in their fancy private school a few years before him, Marigold has always been her best friend Justice’s social interpreter. She might be the only Black girl in their grade, but Mari fits in with the moneyed students, and Justice is a scholarship kid. But this summer, things are going to flip: He’s just been accepted into Style High, a summer program designed to boost Black kids who are interested in careers in fashion design and styling. It’s hosted by preeminent hip-hop media company Flexx Unlimited—which is owned by Mari’s parents. Justice wanted to get in on his own merit and not ask for special treatment, but then Mari does exactly that—she asks her parents to let her take part. She’s genuinely interested in fashion, but even she knows her spot was not earned the same way it was by others. And they know it too. Mari’s in for an awakening ruder than she expected, one that will make her question what she knows about her family and background. The socio-economic and racial dynamics of this story add a compelling dimension to a story that fits squarely into the lifestyles-of-the-rich-and-famous genre of realistic fiction that is just a touch fantastic with all its glitz and glamour. Text messages can be hard to follow, but the prose has a strong teen voice.
A solid story of summer growth and exploration. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-296569-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.
If you made a recording to be heard by the aliens who found the iPod, what would you record?
For 11-year-old Alex Petroski, it's easy. He records everything. He records the story of how he travels to New Mexico to a rocket festival with his dog, Carl Sagan, and his rocket. He records finding out that a man with the same name and birthday as his dead father has an address in Las Vegas. He records eating at Johnny Rockets for the first time with his new friends, who are giving him a ride to find his dead father (who might not be dead!), and losing Carl Sagan in the wilds of Las Vegas, and discovering he has a half sister. He even records his own awful accident. Cheng delivers a sweet, soulful debut novel with a brilliant, refreshing structure. His characters manage to come alive through the “transcript” of Alex’s iPod recording, an odd medium that sounds like it would be confusing but really works. Taking inspiration from the Voyager Golden Record released to space in 1977, Alex, who explains he has “light brown skin,” records all the important moments of a journey that takes him from a family of two to a family of plenty.
Riveting, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious. (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-399-18637-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic.
Chainani works an elaborate sea change akin to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked (1995), though he leaves the waters muddied.
Every four years, two children, one regarded as particularly nice and the other particularly nasty, are snatched from the village of Gavaldon by the shadowy School Master to attend the divided titular school. Those who survive to graduate become major or minor characters in fairy tales. When it happens to sweet, Disney princess–like Sophie and her friend Agatha, plain of features, sour of disposition and low of self-esteem, they are both horrified to discover that they’ve been dropped not where they expect but at Evil and at Good respectively. Gradually—too gradually, as the author strings out hundreds of pages of Hogwarts-style pranks, classroom mishaps and competitions both academic and romantic—it becomes clear that the placement wasn’t a mistake at all. Growing into their true natures amid revelations and marked physical changes, the two spark escalating rivalry between the wings of the school. This leads up to a vicious climactic fight that sees Good and Evil repeatedly switching sides. At this point, readers are likely to feel suddenly left behind, as, thanks to summary deus ex machina resolutions, everything turns out swell(ish).
Rich and strange (and kitted out with an eye-catching cover), but stronger in the set pieces than the internal logic. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-210489-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2013
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