<i>Juniper Berry</i> (review)
2011; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 64; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2011.0349
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Themes in Literature Analysis
ResumoReviewed by: Juniper Berry April Spisak Kozlowsky, M. P. Juniper Berry; illus. by Erwin Madrid. Walden Pond/HarperCollins, 2011. [240p]. ISBN 978-0-06-199869-0 $15.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4–6. Juniper just wants her parents back. The eleven-year-old is happy they’ve both found the acting success they sought for so long, but she is becoming increasingly alarmed at the personality changes that have accompanied their rise to fame. Her formerly loving folks are now shrill, desperate, and angry, and Juniper suspects that a nearby tree is, weirdly, somehow connected. Indeed, Juniper and her friend, Giles, discover within the tree a creature who can make all of your dreams come true, for the small cost of blowing a bit of your soul into a balloon. Her parents, unable even to remember their daughter, are too far gone to turn back, so Juniper realizes that she must save them, along with the many others whose true selves bob around in the well-protected room of balloons that feed this horrific creature. The quirky plot (who knew brightly colored balloons could represent such dire consequences?) is nicely accented with a slightly out-of-time feel (cell phones mark the era as contemporary, but the language and occasional formality lend a more period flavor to the story) and characters who are charming but all odd in various ways. Kozlowsky wisely builds toward a rich and complex climax worth these often-splendid characters, one that allows for the happy result that they deserve, but the book also acknowledges the inevitable somberness of a situation wherein a child, ill-equipped but defiant, acts as the only real combatant against someone who is powerful enough to coax individuals into slowly giving up their souls. Occasional black-and-white illustrations emphasize the darkness that seems constantly ready to consume Juniper and those she loves. [End Page 425] Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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