Amateur sleuths and aspiring scientists will get a kick out of this police-work primer by Jones (Accidents May Happen, 1996, etc.), who reveals the fascinating science used by detectives and forensic pathologists to solve mysteries. In an upbeat, frank approach, Jones shows how even minuscule clues—microscopic bits of fiber, paint, or glass chips—are used to prove the guilt or innocence of a suspect, and cites real cases to illustrate her point, e.g., a wife who was charged with her husband's murder when carpet fibers from her car were discovered on his body. Young readers gain familiarity with the field's jargon, learning for example, how a gun's bore, residue samples, and blowback can trace the weapon to an unknown shooter's hand. Those who don't shrink from the mention of a discovered corpse will be rewarded by the discussion of pathology work, which shows how a victim's weight, race, and even occupation can be determined from skeletal remains. Jones stresses the links between science and the everyday world throughout the book; interspersed among the chapters are ``Fascinating U.S. Crime Facts,'' offering a brisk sense of the life of crime in this country. Not just an essential tool for crimebuster wannabes hot on the trail, but a volume that makes plain the importance of critical thinking and careful research for all types of problem-solving. (b&w illustrations, not seen, glossary, further reading, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-385-32299-2
Page Count: 111
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997
A world-class charmer, Clements (The Janitor’s Boy, 2000, etc.) woos aspiring young authors—as well as grown up publishers, editors, agents, parents, teachers, and even reviewers—with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a 12-year-old novelist’s triumphant debut. Sparked by a chance comment of her mother’s, a harried assistant editor for a (surely fictional) children’s imprint, Natalie draws on deep reserves of feeling and writing talent to create a moving story about a troubled schoolgirl and her father. First, it moves her pushy friend Zoe, who decides that it has to be published; then it moves a timorous, second-year English teacher into helping Zoe set up a virtual literary agency; then, submitted pseudonymously, it moves Natalie’s unsuspecting mother into peddling it to her waspish editor-in-chief. Depicting the world of children’s publishing as a delicious mix of idealism and office politics, Clements squires the manuscript past slush pile and contract, the editing process, and initial buzz (“The Cheater grabs hold of your heart and never lets go,” gushes Kirkus). Finally, in a tearful, joyous scene—carefully staged by Zoe, who turns out to be perfect agent material: cunning, loyal, devious, manipulative, utterly shameless—at the publication party, Natalie’s identity is revealed as news cameras roll. Selznick’s gnomic, realistic portraits at once reflect the tale’s droll undertone and deftly capture each character’s distinct personality. Terrific for flourishing school writing projects, this is practical as well as poignant. Indeed, it “grabs hold of yourheart and never lets go.” (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-82594-3
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
This profoundly moving story is all the more impressive because of its basis in fact. Although the story is fictionalized, its most harrowing aspects are true: “Today, more than two hundred million children between the ages of five and seventeen are ‘economically active’ in the world.” Iqbal Masih, a real boy, was murdered at age 13. His killers have never been found, but it’s believed that a cartel of ruthless people overseeing the carpet industry, the “Carpet Mafia,” killed him. The carpet business in Pakistan is the backdrop for the story of a young Pakistani girl in indentured servitude to a factory owner, who also “owned” the bonds of 14 children, indentured by their own families for sorely needed money. Fatima’s first-person narrative grips from the beginning and inspires with every increment of pride and resistance the defiant Iqbal instills in his fellow workers. Although he was murdered for his efforts, Iqbal’s life was not in vain; the accounts here of children who were liberated through his and activist adults’ efforts will move readers for years to come. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-689-85445-5
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2003
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