DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile
Amina is a spirited middle-class teen who must sink or swim at prestigious Gardner Academy. Stacey Glemboski is the perfect narrator for this millennial coming-of-age story, which features a group of anxious youth who must continually cope with the threats of today’s fast-paced, news-saturated world. Listeners will chuckle during the familiar fish-out-of-water scenes as Glemboski plays up Amina's discomfort among her wealthy classmates. Eventually, Amina gains confidence and finds her place among friends. Glemboski's energetic performance makes this fictional character as real as any listeners might know. M.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"One of those rare books you can’t put down. Teens looking for a character-driven novel with a touch of mystery can’t do better than this." — Booklist (starred review)
Praise for Questions I Want to Ask You: “A well-rounded, much-needed portrait of a boy with self-image issues and a narrow mindset who expands his viewpoint and prepares for an uncertain future.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Falkoff’s coming-of-age story leaves the reader feeling proud of Pack’s personal evolution and ends in a place that truly feels like a new beginning.” — Booklist
“Many teens will identify with Pack’s desire for things to stay as they are even as they change around him. The mystery is quiet but intriguing, leading to a satisfying conclusion that is not perfect but hopeful. The highlight here is Pack’s personal growth and self-discovery. Give this to readers with a taste for intrigue and quiet, character-driven stories.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Praise for Playlist for the Dead: “Falkoff treats a difficult topic with delicacy and care.” — Publishers Weekly
“Realistic and well-written.” — School Library Journal
“A nice premise with some truly powerful moments.” — Kirkus Reviews
“An absorbing and sensitive read.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Praise for Pushing Perfect: “Twists and turns abound. Reminiscent of Lois Duncan with its methodical uncovering of clues and multiple red herrings, this mystery will keep readers turning the pages.“ — School Library Journal
“Recommended for teens who enjoy mysteries in the form of timely, realistic fiction.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)
Many teens will identify with Pack’s desire for things to stay as they are even as they change around him. The mystery is quiet but intriguing, leading to a satisfying conclusion that is not perfect but hopeful. The highlight here is Pack’s personal growth and self-discovery. Give this to readers with a taste for intrigue and quiet, character-driven stories.”
Booklist (starred review)
"One of those rare books you can’t put down. Teens looking for a character-driven novel with a touch of mystery can’t do better than this."
Booklist
Falkoff’s coming-of-age story leaves the reader feeling proud of Pack’s personal evolution and ends in a place that truly feels like a new beginning.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
An absorbing and sensitive read.”
Booklist
Falkoff’s coming-of-age story leaves the reader feeling proud of Pack’s personal evolution and ends in a place that truly feels like a new beginning.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
An absorbing and sensitive read.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
An absorbing and sensitive read.”
School Library Journal
11/01/2020
Gr 9 Up—Amina struggles with horrific nightmares involving a fire and the destruction of her family's synagogue. She obsessively researches anti-Semitism, the Holocaust, and the rise of the Third Reich, which worries her parents, who seek out a private school in Vermont to help break the cycle Amina has fallen into. At Gardner Academy, Amina meets a group of students of various races who share her fears regarding the end of the world; together they form the Eucalyptus Society. They meet in a fallout shelter located beneath the president's house and design games to teach and test one another in survival skills, such as foraging, packing a bag, safely attending a protest, and living without electricity. As the semester progresses, each member of the group is targeted by a mysterious stranger who seems to know their deepest, darkest secrets. Secrets and lies are circulated among the entire student body with embarrassing results. The new friends begin to wonder just how much they can trust one another; then one of their own goes missing, and suddenly they are playing a real game of survival. This suspenseful novel is packed with big ideas, and its strength lies in the well-crafted dialogue that showcases young people thoughtfully engaged in the exploration of topics ranging from environmentalism to racism. VERDICT A page-turner that will get readers thinking about issues facing the world today and may even spur them to activism.—Samantha Lumetta, P.L. of Cincinnati and Hamilton Cty.
DECEMBER 2020 - AudioFile
Amina is a spirited middle-class teen who must sink or swim at prestigious Gardner Academy. Stacey Glemboski is the perfect narrator for this millennial coming-of-age story, which features a group of anxious youth who must continually cope with the threats of today’s fast-paced, news-saturated world. Listeners will chuckle during the familiar fish-out-of-water scenes as Glemboski plays up Amina's discomfort among her wealthy classmates. Eventually, Amina gains confidence and finds her place among friends. Glemboski's energetic performance makes this fictional character as real as any listeners might know. M.R. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2020-08-18
Teens prepare themselves for catastrophes.
High school sophomore Amina, half-Israeli and all Jewish, has had nightmares ever since someone threw a Molotov cocktail through her synagogue’s window. Now a scholarship student at an upscale boarding school, Amina finds solace in a new group of friends and the Eucalyptus Society, a club in which they take turns creating competitive challenges focused on building knowledge and skills that will help them survive when the world inevitably ends. This unbalanced novel offers great potential: a minor mystery, budding romance, complicated friendships, and the all-too-believable premise that today’s teens have fears about the future that extend far beyond college and career choices. But the way Amina’s first-person narration unfolds makes events feel recapped, diluting their impact for readers. Frequent overt exposition and more attention to academic, financial, and social stresses than to the plot-driving challenges result in a pace much like that of a pre–climate change glacier. The final chapters, which include more focus on the mystery, bring a sense of genuine emotional investment for Amina as well as readers and give some dimension to Amina’s somewhat diverse friend group, whose complex familial situations often stand in for character development. Timely to a fault, the veiled but obvious references to current politics may age badly.
Squandered potential. (Fiction. 12-16)
