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A HAND FULL OF STARS

Name: A HAND FULL OF STARS
Author: Rafik Schami
ISBN: 978-1-56656-840-1

by Rafik Schami ; translated by Rika Lesser ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2012

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First published in 1987 in Germany (where Schami now lives), an award-winning novel in the form of the journal of an unnamed boy growing up in Schami's native Damascus.

In brief incidents, directly told, the narrator grows from a schoolboy of 14 to a promising journalistic rebel three years later. Compelled to leave the school he loves (despite the varying competence of its teachers) and to do a man's grueling work in his father's bakery, the boy never gives up his dream of becoming a journalist. Eventually, he is able to change jobs and work for a bookstore; meanwhile, his first poems have been published in a collection of student work and he and his friends have needled their vicious police state with several acts, culminating in an underground newspaper distributed as stuffing in socks sold in the marketplace. In a country where violent changes of government are almost as commonplace as capricious arrests (both the boy's father and his mentor, a journalist who gives up his career in despair, are imprisoned and tortured without cause), hope survives in the talented young people here and in the adults who are wonderfully characterized in revealing incidents—especially the boy's wise, sensible mother and his close friend, an illiterate old man whose splendid stories illuminate many a circumstance.

A crystalline window into the many-faceted world of the Middle East. (Fiction. 12-16)

Pub Date: May 22, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-56656-840-1

Page Count: 208

Publisher: Interlink

Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1990

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE STORYTELLER OF DAMASCUS
by Rafik Schami ; illustrated by Peter Knorr ; translated by Hiltrud Schulz & Michel Moushabeck

- BOOK REVIEW
SOPHIA
by Rafik Schami ; translated by Monique Arav & John Hannon

- BOOK REVIEW
THE CALLIGRAPHER'S SECRET
by Rafik Schami & translated by Anthea Bell

THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER

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THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER

by Ben Philippe ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 8, 2019

Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice.

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A teenage, not-so-lonely loner endures the wilds of high school in Austin, Texas.

Norris Kaplan, the protagonist of Philippe’s debut novel, is a hypersweaty, uber-snarky black, Haitian, French-Canadian pushing to survive life in his new school. His professor mom’s new tenure-track job transplants Norris mid–school year, and his biting wit and sarcasm are exposed through his cataloging of his new world in a field guide–style burn book. He’s greeted in his new life by an assortment of acquaintances, Liam, who is white and struggling with depression; Maddie, a self-sacrificing white cheerleader with a heart of gold; and Aarti, his Indian-American love interest who offers connection. Norris’ ego, fueled by his insecurities, often gets in the way of meaningful character development. The scenes showcasing his emotional growth are too brief and, despite foreshadowing, the climax falls flat because he still gets incredible personal access to people he’s hurt. A scene where Norris is confronted by his mother for getting drunk and belligerent with a white cop is diluted by his refusal or inability to grasp the severity of the situation and the resultant minor consequences. The humor is spot-on, as is the representation of the black diaspora; the opportunity for broader conversations about other topics is there, however, the uneven buildup of detailed, meaningful exchanges and the glibness of Norris’ voice detract.

Despite some missteps, this will appeal to readers who enjoy a fresh and realistic teen voice. (Fiction. 13-16)

Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019

ISBN: 978-0-06-282411-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018

Categories:

TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES

- SEEN & HEARD
Alicia D. Williams, David Yoon on Shortlist for William C. Morris Award for YA Debut

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THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS

From the Girl of Fire and Thorns series , Vol. 1

by Rae Carson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2011

Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...

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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)