A charming tale about deceit’s tangled web with textured, kinetic illustrations.
In this illustrated children’s book, a young osprey has an ethical dilemma.
In his debut novel, Oscar the Osprey: The Bird Who Was Afraid of Heights (2015), Polansky introduced his avian title character and explained how he dealt with his fear of heights. Oscar also bravely stayed at Jenny Lake for the winter while his flock migrated south, a feat that has transformed him from outcast to hero. But what only Oscar and the timber wolves know is that he actually found a safe spot a short distance from the lake, returning to it just before his flock flew north. The idea that a lie doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hurt anyone (voiced by a bear) seems plausible. But Oscar’s brother Otto, upset that he’s lost his leadership position among the young ospreys to Oscar, nearly drowns when he tries to prove himself by attempting to catch a strong and wily trout. And if ospreys believe the wolf leader’s self-serving claim that Oscar’s feat was easy, and “it would be a great idea if all you ospreys stayed through the winter,” the results could be disastrous. Oscar summons his courage and meets with the elders to tell the truth. In the end, Oscar understands that being honest is more important than heroism. Polansky lays out the complications of Oscar’s conundrum well; it’s not quite as simple as lie versus truth, especially in light of Oscar’s history of being ostracized for fear of heights. Young readers will appreciate the elders’ compassionate response. In a few cases, however, Polansky misrepresents ospreys for the sake of his fable. The birds rarely form large flocks in winter, for example. Also, it’s unfortunate to replicate human sexism in Otto’s comment that his sister Oprah is “no competition….She was just a girl.” (Female ospreys are generally larger than males.) The story is bolstered by Rosow’s black-and-white ink illustrations. Expressive and scribbly, as when a tangled cloud of frustration overhangs Oscar, these are somewhat reminiscent of Jules Feiffer’s work, but with more compact line work and an original flair.
A charming tale about deceit’s tangled web with textured, kinetic illustrations.Pub Date: March 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-72830-112-9
Page Count: 48
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: July 10, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.
Four men who meet as college roommates move to New York and spend the next three decades gaining renown in their professions—as an architect, painter, actor and lawyer—and struggling with demons in their intertwined personal lives.
Yanagihara (The People in the Trees, 2013) takes the still-bold leap of writing about characters who don’t share her background; in addition to being male, JB is African-American, Malcolm has a black father and white mother, Willem is white, and “Jude’s race was undetermined”—deserted at birth, he was raised in a monastery and had an unspeakably traumatic childhood that’s revealed slowly over the course of the book. Two of them are gay, one straight and one bisexual. There isn’t a single significant female character, and for a long novel, there isn’t much plot. There aren’t even many markers of what’s happening in the outside world; Jude moves to a loft in SoHo as a young man, but we don’t see the neighborhood change from gritty artists’ enclave to glitzy tourist destination. What we get instead is an intensely interior look at the friends’ psyches and relationships, and it’s utterly enthralling. The four men think about work and creativity and success and failure; they cook for each other, compete with each other and jostle for each other’s affection. JB bases his entire artistic career on painting portraits of his friends, while Malcolm takes care of them by designing their apartments and houses. When Jude, as an adult, is adopted by his favorite Harvard law professor, his friends join him for Thanksgiving in Cambridge every year. And when Willem becomes a movie star, they all bask in his glow. Eventually, the tone darkens and the story narrows to focus on Jude as the pain of his past cuts deep into his carefully constructed life.
The phrase “tour de force” could have been invented for this audacious novel.Pub Date: March 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-53925-8
Page Count: 720
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PROFILES
PERSPECTIVES
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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