The second in a trilogy (The Sky Is Falling, 1990)—about two English children sent to live in Canada during WW II—takes Norah (now 13) and little brother Gavin for a summer at the large lakeside establishment of the Drummond family, whose several generations come there also to join Norah's hostess, wealthy old Mrs. Ogilvie. The family's lifestyle (plus Pearson's depiction of it) is leisurely—boating, games, etc. Of the nine cousins in the youngest generation, the one of greatest interest to Norah is Andrew, 19, a would-be actor whose family is pushing him into engineering school or the army (as an officer, of course; class is taken for granted). Norah develops a fervent crush on Andrew, a kind boy who (after he notices) preserves his friendly demeanor with admirable tact; he even confides his horror of killing to Norah alone, so that his later decision to join up comes as a shock to her (cf. Hahn's Stepping on the Cracks, 1991, which probes much deeper into this issue). Pearson writes with restraint—the adults never do find out about the party the kids throw when they spend a night away; unmarried Aunt Mary decides not to wed the nice man she's been meeting secretly all summer—yet the undramatic outcomes are realistic; meanwhile, Norah continues to grow and adapt, and others are lightly but credibly sketched. A period piece, at its best in evoking those strangely peaceful days. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-670-84097-1
Page Count: 213
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1992
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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