Thirteen-year-old Jedediah Barstow has just been orphaned during a crossing of the Kaw River. Without a family, he is forced to depend on the generosity of the other pioneers and on his own substantial inner resources. Writing in journal format, Levine (Darkness over Denmark, 1999, etc.) has resolved some of the constraints of the form to tell a gripping, funny, and memorable story of one boy’s adventure to Oregon. Readers who are unfamiliar with the details of life on the road will be fascinated by Jedediah’s observations: how butter was made, the many uses of buffalo chips, how to divert stampeding buffalo, burial techniques, the myriad decisions the travelers had to make every day, and the various dangers posed by rivers, wildlife, and mountains. Levine, through Jed’s well-defined voice, tells a memorable story, filled with the humor, sorrow, and excitement. The journal feels real because Levine leaves in some mistakes in grammar and has Jed comment on his difficulty with language. Poignant “mistakes” remind the reader that Jed is a boy who is slowly recovering from a trauma. (When Jed meets a little girl who is the age of his deceased sister, he accidentally calls the girl “Sally,” then crosses out his sister’s name to write “Bekka.”) But this fictional journal is much more than a vehicle for Levine’s research. Underlying the details of daily life on the trail is the story of Jed, the grieving orphan. Thrust into adulthood by unspeakable loss, Jed learns what it means to be a grown-up as he observes the various men and women on the Trail. Cruel Mr. Henshaw, with his worsening temper and alcoholism, allows young Jed to join his family as a servant. Jacob Fenster, an intelligent and thoughtful Jewish man, comes to Jed’s rescue many times and forces the young man to reflect on his own religious prejudices. Fix-it man Mr. Littleton hires Jed and teaches him how to fix the many things that break each day, from wagon wheels to personal relationships to false teeth. Jedediah Barstow is an unforgettable character in this fine story of bravery, grief, friendship, and community. (historical note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-439-06310-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2002
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live.
In a similarly hefty companion to Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods (2014), the most voluble of Poseidon’s many sons dishes on a dozen more ancient relatives and fellow demigods.
Riordan averts his young yarn spinner’s eyes from the sex but not the stupidity, violence, malice, or bad choices that drive so many of the old tales. He leavens full, refreshingly tart accounts of the ups and downs of such higher-profile heroes as Theseus, Orpheus, Hercules, and Jason with the lesser-known but often equally awesome exploits of such butt-kicking ladies as Atalanta, Otrera (the first Amazon), and lion-wrestling Cyrene. In thought-provoking contrast, Psyche comes off as no less heroic, even though her story is less about general slaughter than the tough “Iron Housewives quests” Aphrodite forces her to undertake to rescue her beloved Eros. Furthermore, along with snarky chapter heads (“Phaethon Fails Driver’s Ed”), the contemporary labor includes references to Jay-Z, Apple Maps, god-to-god texting, and the like—not to mention the way the narrator makes fun of hard-to-pronounce names and points up such character flaws as ADHD (Theseus) and anger management issues (Hercules). The breezy treatment effectively blows off at least some of the dust obscuring the timeless themes in each hero’s career. In Rocco’s melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters.
Tales that “lay out your options for painful and interesting ways to die.” And to live. (maps, index) (Mythology. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 18, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-8365-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 21, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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