1. Fresh. 2. Fun. 3. Entertaining.
When fifth-grader Andromeda moves from Brooklyn to a small town, she must deal with all of the issues a move like that could create.
She’s pretty sure she caused the move by accidentally revealing to her school principal that she didn’t live in the correct school district. Her older brother, Ted, blames her for his loneliness now that they’ve arrived in tiny Clover Gap. Her parents, apartment dwellers, have lots to learn about maintaining a house. Annie is sure that she should conceal her fabulous memory from her new classmates and does everything she can to melt into the background. New classmate Zora reaches out to Annie, but that leaves Zora’s other friend, Amelia, feeling angry, vindictive, and very unwelcoming. (Zora is also one of the only black characters in both the book and Clover Gap, a fact that is addressed matter-of-factly and with sensitivity.) Meanwhile, Annie’s best friend from the city gradually loses touch with her. All of these deftly interrelated plotlines are related in the lists that Annie keeps—lists of just about everything—and it’s these, and the fun twist they create, that elevate the tale over the pack, adding an amusing dimension to a well-worked trope. Annie’s slightly tongue-in-cheek voice, revealed in the lists and occasional narrative paragraphs, breathes life into the many characters around her, adding believability.
1. Fresh. 2. Fun. 3. Entertaining. (Fiction. 8-11)Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6509-5
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers.
First volume of a planned three, this edited version of an ongoing online serial records a middle-school everykid’s triumphs and (more often) tribulations through the course of a school year.
Largely through his own fault, mishaps seem to plague Greg at every turn, from the minor freak-outs of finding himself permanently seated in class between two pierced stoners and then being saddled with his mom for a substitute teacher, to being forced to wrestle in gym with a weird classmate who has invited him to view his “secret freckle.” Presented in a mix of legible “hand-lettered” text and lots of simple cartoon illustrations with the punch lines often in dialogue balloons, Greg’s escapades, unwavering self-interest and sardonic commentary are a hoot and a half.
Certain to elicit both gales of giggles and winces of sympathy (not to mention recognition) from young readers. (Fiction. 9-11)Pub Date: April 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-8109-9313-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet!
Ryan Hart is navigating the fourth grade and all its challenges with determination.
Her mom named her Ryan because it means “king,” and she wanted Ryan to feel powerful every time she heard her name; Ryan knows it means she is a leader. So when changes occur or disaster strikes, budding chef Ryan does her best to find the positive and “make sunshine.” When her dad is laid off from the post office, the family must make adjustments that include moving into a smaller house, selling their car, and changing how they shop for groceries. But Ryan gets to stay at Vernon Elementary, and her mom still finds a way to get her the ingredients she needs to practice new recipes. Her older brother, Ray, can be bossy, but he finds little ways to support her, especially when she is down—as does the whole family. Each episodic chapter confronts Ryan with a situation; intermittently funny, frustrating, and touching, they should be familiar and accessible to readers, as when Ryan fumbles her Easter speech despite careful practice. Ryan, her family, and friends are Black, and Watson continues to bring visibility to both Portland, Oregon, generally and its Black community specifically, making another wonderful contribution that allows Black readers to see themselves and all readers to find a character they can love.
Move over Ramona Quimby, Portland has another neighbor you have to meet! (Fiction. 8-10)Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0056-4
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
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