An engaging and sympathetic exploration of a girl’s struggles with mental illness and recovery.
As she enters the sixth grade, a girl spirals downward and searches for answers in this debut middle-grade novel.
With her fifth grade year ending, Sarah is looking forward to summer and her Massachusetts family’s annual trip to Cape Cod, although she’s worried about starting middle school in the fall. No matter how hard she tries, Sarah can’t seem to earn good grades. She is constantly getting dinged by her teachers and parents. They say she doesn’t make an effort or work well with others; she’s disruptive, distracted, and immature. Creativity has been her mainstay, but even that has been lessened by her art teacher’s criticism. She wishes she could be normal but acts out in ways that puzzle even her. At Girl Scout camp, for example, she wakes after a nighttime walk far from her tent, dazed and screaming. As sixth grade begins, the almost-friendless girl experiences fresh disasters, constantly disappointing her teachers and parents and becoming seriously depressed; she fantasizes about swimming away like a mermaid and disappearing from her life. When she reaches out to a teacher she trusts, Sarah at last receives professional help, a diagnosis, and a support system. Though she knows it won’t be fast or easy, she’s relieved to have more control. In her book, Read offers a realistic portrayal of mental illness as Sarah grapples painfully with trying to manage something she doesn’t understand. As the narrator, Sarah can become overly repetitive and maudlin; it’s understandable and does convey her stuck state of mind, but readers may find themselves getting impatient. Things pick up with Sarah’s diagnosis, bringing her experiences into focus. The novel provides clear, useful information about Sarah’s condition and its management, including ongoing help from a treatment team and her parents’ involvement.
An engaging and sympathetic exploration of a girl’s struggles with mental illness and recovery.Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64-228036-4
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Izzard Ink
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read.
Tyler is the son of generations of Vermont dairy farmers.
Mari is the Mexican-born daughter of undocumented migrant laborers whose mother has vanished in a perilous border crossing. When Tyler’s father is disabled in an accident, the only way the family can afford to keep the farm is by hiring Mari’s family. As Tyler and Mari’s friendship grows, the normal tensions of middle-school boy-girl friendships are complicated by philosophical and political truths. Tyler wonders how he can be a patriot while his family breaks the law. Mari worries about her vanished mother and lives in fear that she will be separated from her American-born sisters if la migra comes. Unashamedly didactic, Alvarez’s novel effectively complicates simple equivalencies between what’s illegal and what’s wrong. Mari’s experience is harrowing, with implied atrocities and immigration raids, but equally full of good people doing the best they can. The two children find hope despite the unhappily realistic conclusions to their troubles, in a story which sees the best in humanity alongside grim realities.
Though it lacks nuance, still a must-read. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-85838-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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