One of Hamilton's more accessible and unforced novels, Junius Over Far celebrates a boy's love for his grandfather, a man's rediscovery of his roots, and an old man's dignity and belonging. In so doing it sounds the relationship between a black and a white descendent of a slave-owning family and weaves in a touch of first love, a little curiosity-piquing mystery, and a taste of life on a small Caribbean island. The story begins with 15-year-old Junius Rawlings acutely missing his grandfather Jackabo, who raised Junius while his parents worked but has recently retired to his native Caribbean island. A high-school loner, Junius even speaks in his grandfather's island accent. Their separation does, however, allow Junius time for his first girlfriend; and it is a pleasure to see his growing confidence with the beautiful Sarrietta. Jackabo has gone to live with his distant white cousin, Burtie Rawlings, in the ruins of the old Rawlings plantation. There it seems that the two "old enemies," who call each other Dirty Burtie and Stinking Black Jack, have formed an almost affectionate mutual accommodation. But Burtie has been spying on sinister strangers at a nearby house, and late one night Jackabo sees him carried off, "like a sack." What with too many drinks and the effects of age, neglect and solitude, grandfather becomes disoriented—and Junius and his father Damius are confused by his letter about Burtie being carried away by pirates. They are, however, concerned enough to go to the island, which Damius has avoided since his youth. From their arrival on the island the novel glows and snaps with strong, compelling scenes, be they small and intimate like their meeting with the dazed old man they recognize as father and grandfather, or dramatic and public, like their visit to the island police station where they report Burtie missing—only to learn of the white Rawlings' small-time treachery. If, in the end, the strangers' sinister business sounds like a Cold War concoction, and if the ultimate disposition of the Rawlings property seems a little too good to be convincingly true, these details are peripheral and unimportant compared to Hamilton's clear-sighted handling of the Burtie connection and her vibrant family portrait.
Pub Date: April 24, 1985
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1985
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators.
Existing artwork from an artistic giant inspires a fairy-tale reimagination by a master of the horror genre.
In King’s interpretation of a classic Brothers Grimm story, which accompanies set and costume designs that the late Sendak created for a 1997 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, siblings Hansel and Gretel survive abandonment in the woods and an evil witch’s plot to gobble them up before finding their “happily ever after” alongside their father. Prose with the reassuring cadence of an old-timey tale, paired with Sendak’s instantly recognizable artwork, will lull readers before capitalizing on these creators’ knack for injecting darkness into seemingly safe spaces. Gaping faces loom in crevices of rocks and trees, and a gloomy palette of muted greens and ocher amplify the story’s foreboding tone, while King never sugarcoats the peach-skinned children’s peril. Branches with “clutching fingers” hide “the awful enchanted house” of a “child-stealing witch,” all portrayed in an eclectic mix of spot and full-bleed images. Featuring insults that might strike some as harsh (“idiot,” “fool”), the lengthy, dense text may try young readers’ patience, and the often overwhelmingly ominous mood feels more pitched to adults—particularly those familiar with King and Sendak—but an introduction acknowledges grandparents as a likely audience, and nostalgia may prompt leniency over an occasional disconnect between words and art.
Menacing and most likely to appeal to established fans of its co-creators. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780062644695
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs.
The Heffley family’s house undergoes a disastrous attempt at home improvement.
When Great Aunt Reba dies, she leaves some money to the family. Greg’s mom calls a family meeting to determine what to do with their share, proposing home improvements and then overruling the family’s cartoonish wish lists and instead pushing for an addition to the kitchen. Before bringing in the construction crew, the Heffleys attempt to do minor maintenance and repairs themselves—during which Greg fails at the work in various slapstick scenes. Once the professionals are brought in, the problems keep getting worse: angry neighbors, terrifying problems in walls, and—most serious—civil permitting issues that put the kibosh on what work’s been done. Left with only enough inheritance to patch and repair the exterior of the house—and with the school’s dismal standardized test scores as a final straw—Greg’s mom steers the family toward moving, opening up house-hunting and house-selling storylines (and devastating loyal Rowley, who doesn’t want to lose his best friend). While Greg’s positive about the move, he’s not completely uncaring about Rowley’s action. (And of course, Greg himself is not as unaffected as he wishes.) The gags include effectively placed callbacks to seemingly incidental events (the “stress lizard” brought in on testing day is particularly funny) and a lampoon of after-school-special–style problem books. Just when it seems that the Heffleys really will move, a new sequence of chaotic trouble and property destruction heralds a return to the status quo. Whew.
Readers can still rely on this series to bring laughs. (Graphic/fiction hybrid. 8-12)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Nov. 18, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
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