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LOOKING FOR TRUE

Name: LOOKING FOR TRUE
Author: Tricia Springstubb
ISBN: 978-0-8234-5099-2

by Tricia Springstubb ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2022

A bighearted novel that suffers from issues with representation.

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Two kids in a small town join forces to rescue an unloved dog.

Big-for-11 Jude lives with his mother and younger half brother; their mom works at a nursing home. Small-for-11 Gladys, who is adopted, helps her mom run an in-home day care; her dad was laid off from the auto plant. When Jude, Gladys, and a strange woman with a blue-eyed dog collide, both kids feel an immediate, wordless connection—to the dog, if not each other. When True Blue, as Gladys dubs her, disappears, Gladys and Jude find her and hide her in Jude and best friend Jabari’s secret fortress on the wrong side of town, but it’s not a long-term solution. Gladys’ dad is allergic, and Jude’s mom is afraid of dogs—how can they save True Blue from the owner who treats her poorly? Chapters from alternating close third-person perspectives show what Gladys and Jude think of themselves and each other, their deepest worries and fears, how their parents’ beliefs have shaped their own, and how they are shaping each other. The protagonists are a study in contrasts, and the supporting characters bring different worldviews and advice. Jude reads White. Jabari’s name and frequent, negative, othering mentions of the size, texture, and hair-product smell of Gladys’ hair may indicate that they are Black. The repeated use of lame as an insult and insensitive language used to describe people with substance abuse issues detract from the otherwise moving writing.

A bighearted novel that suffers from issues with representation. (Fiction. 9-13)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-8234-5099-2

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Holiday House

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022

Categories:

CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY

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THE MOST PERFECT THING IN THE UNIVERSE
by Tricia Springstubb

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KHALIL AND MR. HAGERTY AND THE BACKYARD TREASURES
by Tricia Springstubb ; illustrated by Elaheh Taherian

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CODY AND THE HEART OF A CHAMPION
by Tricia Springstubb ; illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

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THE LION OF LARK-HAYES MANOR

by Aubrey Hartman ; illustrated by Christopher Cyr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2023

A pleasing premise for book lovers.

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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

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS

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TUCK EVERLASTING

by Natalie Babbitt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1975

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the...

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At a time when death has become an acceptable, even voguish subject in children's fiction, Natalie Babbitt comes through with a stylistic gem about living forever.

Protected Winnie, the ten-year-old heroine, is not immortal, but when she comes upon young Jesse Tuck drinking from a secret spring in her parents' woods, she finds herself involved with a family who, having innocently drunk the same water some 87 years earlier, haven't aged a moment since. Though the mood is delicate, there is no lack of action, with the Tucks (previously suspected of witchcraft) now pursued for kidnapping Winnie; Mae Tuck, the middle aged mother, striking and killing a stranger who is onto their secret and would sell the water; and Winnie taking Mae's place in prison so that the Tucks can get away before she is hanged from the neck until....? Though Babbitt makes the family a sad one, most of their reasons for discontent are circumstantial and there isn't a great deal of wisdom to be gleaned from their fate or Winnie's decision not to share it.

However the compelling fitness of theme and event and the apt but unexpected imagery (the opening sentences compare the first week in August when this takes place to "the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning") help to justify the extravagant early assertion that had the secret about to be revealed been known at the time of the action, the very earth "would have trembled on its axis like a beetle on a pin." (Fantasy. 9-11)