An intricate, ultimately overdrawn story about sixteen-year-old Polly O'Keefe and her coming of age. Geographically, Polly moves from her home on Benne Seed Island (off South Carolina) to Athens and Cyprus but what L'Engle really tracks is Polly's emotional course. L'Engle begins in Athens and, through present narrative and frequent recall, contrasts Polly's three days escorted by Zachary Gray to her previous eight months as the protegee of Maximiliana Home, a wealthy neighbor who dazzled the teenager with art and champagne, philosophical conversations and timely encouragements. What the reader senses for a while—a betrayal back at Benne Seed—is disclosed by the time Polly reaches Cyprus. Max, who first concealed a fatal illness, loses control one night (bourbon for the pain) and reaches out to Polly for more than friendship. Recoiling, Polly runs to friend Renny, who first comforts and then seduces her. She has two more approaches from men before reaching a new equilibrium. L'Engle is such a practiced storyteller that although Max herself and the evolving relationship seem unoriginal, the actual telling is suspenseful. And she makes Zachary different enough from the others in Polly's life to make the Athens episode credible. But although the final revelations, made while Polly works at a conference in Cyprus, are fitting, the conference experience itself unbalances the book. Jammed with a complete set of new characters, customs, and themes, it makes the book too rich—like having three desserts after a roast beef dinner. L'Engle attempts a lot here and accomplishes much of it, but readers may well jump ship before Polly heads for home.
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 1984
ISBN: 0312547986
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1984
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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