Alex Flinn, . . HarperTempest, $7.99 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-06-447257-9
In what PW
called "a gripping tale," a 16-year-old, who is considered perfect by his classmates, suffers a turbulent home life with an abusive father, and he himself follows the pattern of violence. Ages 13-up. (Oct.)
Note:
Additional reviews of children's books can be found in the Children's Religion section (p. 69).
"Ever feel like you're breathing underwater, and you have to stop because you're gulping in too much fluid?" For 16-year-old Nick Andreas, these words from his violence counselor Continue reading »
Heavy-handed writing undermines Flinn's (Breathing Underwater) stated goal for her second novel, namely, to "stimulate discussion" among teens about Continue reading »
Michael Daye has been living under an assumed name and traveling with a carnival for the past year, but he returns with the carnival to Miami just as his mother is about to stand trial for Continue reading »
Flinn (Diva
) delivers a lighthearted and contemporary twist on Beauty and the Beast, and while there is nothing shocking nor any striking departure from the Continue reading »
In the same vein as Flinn's Beastly, this clever and humorous retelling of ""Sleeping Beauty"" follows an aimless American boy who awakens a princess who has been slumbering for 300 years. Jack Continue reading »
As she did in Beastly and A Kiss in Time, Flinn mixes traditional fairy tales with a modern setting in a romance that is clever but not always compelling. When the beautiful princess of Aloria visits Continue reading »
Flinn (Beastly, Cloaked) again puts a modern spin on a classic fairy tale. In this Rapunzel retelling, Wyatt, a teen mourning the devastating loss of his best friend and his best friend's sister, Continue reading »
In a family of five siblings, this book’s narrator—the second-oldest—describes how “we can split anything.” Divvying things up is easy when it comes to broccoli (“Hey, you Continue reading »
A boy with an affinity for animals, a girl who can fly when the wind blows, and a secreted-away world in need of saving propel this realms-roving dazzler, a trilogy opener from Continue reading »
Five major currents in the Atlantic Ocean “swirl billions of gallons of water clockwise around and around,” creating an immense body of water, called the Sargasso Sea after the Continue reading »
As Edward Imagined: The Story of Edward Gorey in Three Acts
Matthew Burgess
In a world bound by rules and conventions, what’s it like to be someone “content to do his own thing, in his own way, in his own time”? Burgess (Sylvester’s Letter) and Majewski Continue reading »