Posted on July 1st, 2013 by pajamapress
“MacLean’s free verse style mirrors 15-year-old protagonist Nix Humbolt’s quiet, unassuming nature: “The first time / I came across the word / introversion / was the first time / I recognized myself. Like, / there was a category / for me.” At the heart of the novel, which is set in a tiny Newfoundland village, is Nix’s complex, push-pull relationship with his older, rebellious sister, Roxy, and the tender bond he forms with a neglected guard dog. To deal with the challenges of both, Nix takes refuge in his father’s woodworking studio, channeling ragged emotions he can’t verbally express into smooth boxes, picture frames, and tables. But when tragedy upends Nix’s life, it takes a special girl named Blue—and a special dog—to help him confront reality. Nix’s immediate first-person narration offers astute observations (“Is an adult just a teenager with a layer of veneer?”), and YAs who are drawn to contemporary fiction and verse novels won’t want to miss this poignant Canadian import.”
— Ann Kelley
Posted in Nix Minus One | Tagged ann-kelley, book, Booklist, Canada, coming-of-age, contemporary, dog, fiction, free-verse, jill-maclean, newfoundland, nix-minus-one, Novel, Review, sister, united-states, us, ya
Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by pajamapress
As the narrator who shares her responses to a stream of stupefying revelations, Emily becomes a real girl, not a cardboard cut-out of a teen…
– HelenK, CanLit for LittleCanadians
Click here to read the full review
Posted in Emily for Real | Tagged Adoption, canlit, canlit-for-littlecanadians, coming-of-age, emily-for-real, fiction, friendship, grief, gunnery, Juvenile, Novel, Pajama Press, Review, sylvia-gunnery
Posted on March 22nd, 2012 by pajamapress
“Young adult readers, especially females, will enjoy reading about the challenges Emily faces and will cheer her on throughout the book, and she attempts to unravel the secrets which have been woven around her. The novel is readable and mostly plot-driven which will keep readers interested in finding out the details and what eventually happens to Emily.”
Posted in Emily for Real | Tagged Adoption, book, CM, CM-magazine, coming-of-age, emily-for-real, fiction, friendship, grief, Juvenile, Novel, Pajama Press, Review
“MacLean’s free verse style mirrors 15-year-old protagonist Nix Humbolt’s quiet, unassuming nature: “The first time / I came across the word / introversion / was the first time / I recognized myself. Like, / there was a category / for me.” At the heart of the novel, which is set in a tiny Newfoundland village, is Nix’s complex, push-pull relationship with his older, rebellious sister, Roxy, and the tender bond he forms with a neglected guard dog. To deal with the challenges of both, Nix takes refuge in his father’s woodworking studio, channeling ragged emotions he can’t verbally express into smooth boxes, picture frames, and tables. But when tragedy upends Nix’s life, it takes a special girl named Blue—and a special dog—to help him confront reality. Nix’s immediate first-person narration offers astute observations (“Is an adult just a teenager with a layer of veneer?”), and YAs who are drawn to contemporary fiction and verse novels won’t want to miss this poignant Canadian import.”