Review Summaries

• Readers value the nimble use of multiple viewpoints and the warmth with which the story treats children's fears. The book balances the pleasures of an adventure with a gentle belief in forming bonds across difference.

Reviews

• 面白かったそうです。

  「主人公は４人 男の子２人と女の子２人 悪い人は男の子1人 森林の周り 日常とちょっと冒険 簡単な英語が多い（言い回し難しくない） 挿絵は１章ごとに少しだけ」 と子供が言っていました。

• キュートだけれどインパクトに欠ける 2018年ニューベリー賞受賞作

  小学校を卒業したばかりの少年Virgil Salinasは中学が始まる前から憂鬱でならない。 他の子たちがどんどん成長しているのに、フィリピン系のVirgilは小柄なままだ。そのうえ、両親から「Turtle（カメ）」というニックネームで呼ばれるほどシャイで引っ込み思案なのだ。 Virgilは密かに同級生の少女Valenciaに恋をしているのだが、ValenciaのほうはVirgilの存在すら意識していない。 聴覚障害があるValenciaは、仲が良い友だちができずに孤独でいる。けれども、孤独だということを自分自身でも認めたくない。 他の子と少し異なるVirgilとValenciaは、近所の体格が良い白人男子のChetからイジメの対象になっている。 自称「霊能力者」の中学生Kaori Tanakaはビジネスを広めたいと思っているが、今のところクライアントは近所のVirgilだけだ。そのVirgilが予約の時間に姿を現さなかったことで、彼に何かが起こったとKaoriは察知する。Kaoriは、妹のGenとValenciaと一緒に近所の森でVirgilを探す……。 人種や文化背景だけでなく障害を含めた多様性がある子供たちが、手をつないで助け合うストーリーは、今のアメリカにはぴったりの児童書だろう。だが、いじめっ子とその父親があまりにもステレオタイプなのはどうかと思った。 また、子供が助け合うストーリーはいいが、この本が与えるいじめっ子に対する解決策は現実では役に立たない。それは、本当にいじめられたことのある子ならよく知っているだろう。 この本を読む前と後で、子供の人生は何か変わるだろうか？ 私はさほど変わらないと思う。 2018年のニューベリー賞の受賞作なので期待したのだが、期待したより表層的な作品だったのが残念だった。

• This was a gift to my grandson (11 yrs.)and was very well liked. I understand it was about making friends and getting along with others in the neighborhood.

• My son is 10 years old and every night before bed we read together and we read a chapter out of this book, we are on chapter 11 and so far things are going wonderful. I've noticed that after I started implementing popcorn reading (one person starts off reading and then randomly will popcorn to the other person to pick up where they left off, ensuring that the child is actually following along and reading with you while you're reading aloud.) with my son that it's really gotten him more engaged with reading, and he really likes the story so far, it's well written and a good flow. The chapters aren't too long, anywhere from 3-7 pages in length, and his reading level scores have actually gone up significantly since the beginning of the year, even with just reading a chapter every night consistently for the last 10 days! This is something I would like to implement with him now for as long as he'll tolerate it, lol. It's so important to read to your kids and to get them engaged and interested in how wonderful books are.

• “Gen’s eyes widened. “Maybe you should consult the crystals.” Oh, yes. The crystals. They walked back inside and went to Kaori’s bedroom, where she had laid her cell phone just outside the door. She preferred not to use her phone in the chamber because she wasn’t sure how the world of the hereafter felt about such things. She’d explained cell phones and the internet to the spirits, so they were all up to speed, but you never know. Virgil didn’t answer the text, so Kaori called. It went straight to his generic voicemail. Kaori hung up, leaned against the wall in the hallway, and chewed her bottom lip. At eleven thirty she developed a pit of concern in her belly. At eleven thirty-five, she considered that something could be gravely wrong. By eleven forty, she was convinced that Virgil Salinas had met a terrible fate and it was time to consult the crystals. She kept them in a small velvet sling bag inside a locked box behind a stack of spell books under her bed. Gen was the only one who knew where the crystals were, and it was her greatest secret as far as both of them were concerned. Gen had to swear on her past, present, and future lives that she would never reveal the location of the crystals for as long as she lived.”

• This book is one very special one because I personally don’t read a lot but this just made me think as if I was the characters shown. The story was thrilling and rich and I loved the fact that the chapters all where for the perspective of these personalities.

• Lo compré para mi hija, y como siempre, me lo he leído yo también. Se trata de un libro bastante bueno, casi diría que un libro especial, y al finalizarlo entiendes por qué ha ganado la medalla Newbery de 2018. A pesar de que el libro me ha gustado mucho, el comienzo puede resultar algo aburrido para el lector impaciente ya que en las primeras 110 páginas no sucede nada relevante, tan solo nos describen a los personajes, esto puede resultar algo pesado pero es necesario para apreciar todo lo que sucede después. Diría que es un libro para chicas ya que tres de los cuatro personajes principales son chicas y el chico es un chaval bastante miedoso y pesimista (casi deprimido). No voy a hablar del argumento porque se podría resumir en un sólo párrafo y me cargaría la historia. Pero si diré que el título del libro hace referencia a esas coincidencias que se dan en ocasiones y que parecen cosa del destino, como si el universo se hubiese propuesto juntar a personas que en principio no tenían nada en común. Yo no creo en el destino pero el libro me ha dejado con una sonrisa en la cara.

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