Moon, Texas, in 1968: the year that 11-year-old Jaynell’s widowed Grandpap moves in. Fearing that he is becoming senile, Jaynell is instructed to keep an eye on Grandpap at all times. She does so with pleasure because it represents both a thrilling invitation to spy and an opportunity to be with her beloved grandfather. Before Grandpap dies (midway through the book), he buys a ’62 Cadillac and teaches Jaynell the rudiments of driving. He also gives his own home to the destitute Pickens family whose father, not unlike Grandpap, is overcoming alcoholism. The setup proceeds at a pace as leisurely as Grandpap’s rounds in his Cadillac, meandering gently through issues of gender, class, alcoholism, and family secrets. Subtle narrative tension threads through the story’s second half as Jaynell’s family argues over Grandpap’s “estate.” Jaynell, the only one who knows that Grandpap intended the Pickens family to have his home, resents the loss of the “homeplace.” Bitterness prevents Jaynell from revealing Grandpap’s intentions when the relatives talk about evicting the Pickenses; a tragedy forces her to reveal the truth. This is bustlingly peopled with colorful, often funny characters. Not all are as interestingly complex as Jaynell’s quiet mother who is coping with her husband’s ’60s-era paternalism and her family’s greed in a tentative but definite way. As always, the author has a reliable grasp on time and place. If the thematic connections are sometimes tenuous, to Holt’s credit the few highly dramatic incidents are not used to manipulate either plot or readers. While this is inherently nostalgic and tenderhearted, it never becomes maudlin and it will be welcomed by fans of Holt’s 1999 National Book Award–winning When Zachary Beaver Came to Town. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-399-23402-0
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
Budding billionaire Greg Kenton has a knack for making money and a serious rival. When he issues his first Chunky Comic Book at the beginning of sixth grade, his neighbor and classmate Maura Shaw produces an alternative. Their quarrel draws the attention of the principal, who bans comics from the school. But when they notice all the other commercial messages in their school, they take their cause to the local school committee. Without belaboring his point, Clements takes on product placement in schools and the need for wealth. “Most people can only use one bathroom at a time,” says Greg’s math teacher, Mr. Z. Greg gets the message; middle-grade readers may ignore it in favor of the delightful spectacle of Greg’s ultimate economic success, a pleasing result for the effort this up-and-coming young businessman puts into his work. Clements weaves intriguing information about comic book illustration into this entertaining, smoothly written story. Selznick’s accompanying black-and-white drawings have the appearance of sketches Greg might have made himself. This hits the jackpot. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: July 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-689-86683-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2005
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