Laughs galore mitigate a thin storyline.
How can a girl make friends at her new school?
If young British teen Olivia can go on the class trip to New York, her social life can finally get started. The white girl’s No. 1 obstacle: lack of money. She starts a vlog to bring in the funds; surely, the ad revenue will pay for her airfare. Unfortunately, her initial attempts fail miserably. The solution: enlist shiny-haired aspiring actress Emma to be “Destiny,” fashionable vlogger extraordinaire, the girl every girl wants to be friends with. Bring on the fandom and the profits! It’s not long before the Destiny Channel goes viral, but how long before someone discovers it’s all fake? It’s not surprising when a classmate outs her, but considering Destiny’s immense fame, it’s puzzling that none of their schoolmates see the vlog and recognize popular, white Emma sooner. Guilt over dubious product placements adds an ethical dilemma to the silly story, as Olivia struggles to balance her need for cash with her morals. Is the trip worth endangering her viewers’ health? Olivia narrates the story through diary entries and vlog transcripts, complete with British colloquialisms. The book’s highlights are the vlog’s guffaw-inducing trolls. There’s the sarcastic “Evil Liam 13” and several members of the grammar police: “Pedantic Penguin,” “Ant the Pedant,” and “Grammar Leopard.” Whiteness is assumed throughout.
Laughs galore mitigate a thin storyline. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-78243-617-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Michael O'Mara/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
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)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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