A poignant, pointed portrayal of the heavy burden parental instability places on a family.
A 10-year-old navigates the uncertainty of life with an unreliable parent while holding on to hope.
Sofie has lived in difficult circumstances for a long time. Her mom has struggled with drug use and abusive relationships for much of Sofie’s life. They live in poverty in Des Moines, Iowa, making frequent visits to the community center for free lunches and to borrow books, which Sofie takes comfort in. Although Sofie aches for her mother’s elusive support, it becomes clear that she has love and support from Con, her 13-year-old brother; her recently sober great-grandfather; and family friend Tommy, her mom’s boss at the restaurant. But her mother’s erratic nature causes Sofie to harbor a persistent sense of unease and fear of abandonment. When her mother disappears for weeks and is subsequently sent to prison for crimes committed with her boyfriend, the question arises of determining an appropriate guardian. Life from Sofie’s perspective is painfully but realistically conveyed, and the portrayal will resonate especially with readers with experience of poverty, addiction, or family trauma. Amid fears and crises, there are still small comforts to be found, capturing feelings of inherent value in her family. As the search for a caregiver finds a happy, albeit unlikely, resolution, the complex mood evoked by Moranville for much of the book is set aside for a softer landing. Most characters appear to be White.
A poignant, pointed portrayal of the heavy burden parental instability places on a family. (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9780823453597
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A real gem.
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice.
India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too.
A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
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