Looking up

Stephan Pastis

Book - 2023

Upset that her neighborhood is being torn down and replaced by fancy condos and coffee shops, Saint, along with her new friend Daniel, hatches a plan to save what is left of her beloved hometown.

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jFICTION/Pastis Stephan
1 / 2 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
Children's Room jFICTION/Pastis Stephan Due Aug 22, 2024
Children's Room jFICTION/Pastis Stephan Checked In
Subjects
Genres
Humorous fiction
Novels
Published
New York : Aladdin 2023.
Language
English
Main Author
Stephan Pastis (author)
Edition
First Aladdin hardcover edition
Physical Description
229 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
Audience
Ages 8 to 12.
ISBN
9781665929622
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

In cartoonist Pastis' latest outing, Saint, a self-described "square peg in a round world," fights a noble, if quixotic, battle to stave off change, ripping up For Sale signs all over town, fulminating at the gentrification they portend, and filling in prospective buyers of her cane-using friend Daniel's house on the neighborhood's (fictive) toxic waste, unmarked burials, and frequent burglaries. At first, her efforts, presented in a narrative festooned with deadpan line drawings, come off as both brave and funny, but as they go on, savvy readers will wonder if something else is driving her behavior--and the late revelation of a family tragedy points to why she wants everything to stay just as it always was. In a poignant twist, even Daniel turns out to be not what he seems. The imaginative Saint makes a memorable protagonist and does find some comfort in a neighbor's remark that light from the stars takes a long time to reach Earth: "Helps me to remember that even though things change, the past is still right there with us."

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

In this deceptively funny illustrated novel about loneliness and grief, Pastis (the Timmy Failure series) introduces a girl striving to save her town from gentrification by latte-sipping hipsters. Saint has a massive crush on neighbor kid Daniel, who walks with a cane. Her heightened emotions compel her to steal his birthday piñata, throw eggs at his drawings, and show up at his door dressed as a skeleton knight speaking in medieval English ("Ye are my Daniel in Distress," she pronounces). On top of her confusing emotions surrounding her crush, Saint is worried about all the fancy new coffee shops and condos springing up around town; she's especially worried about how these new developments have compelled community members to move away. When she learns that Daniel will soon be leaving, too, she persuades him to aid her in her quest to save the town from developers. Pastis's distinctive, heavily lined b&w illustrations effectively convey the protagonists' depth of emotion via amiable faces composed of two dots for eyes and a c-curve nose, while prose contains his signature absurd humor, which lightens this meditation on mourning. Characters' skin tone reflects the white of the paper. Ages 8--12. Agent: Dan Lazar, Writers House. (Oct.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 3--7--Saint (named after the football team) is a face-loving (will eat nothing with a face), piñata-saving girl, who claims her mom breaks all of her promises. The latest proof of this shortcoming comes in the form of Saint's mom not being able to attend an egg toss, which henceforth eliminates the chance of Saint winning the shopping spree at her favorite toy store, Punches Toy Farm. When Punches is demolished to become a coffee shop, it is just one more casualty in their small town. Across the street lives shy, Daniel "Chance" McGibbons, who likes to draw (his imaginary friend, Timmy) and walks with a cane. When Daniel's house goes up for sale, Saint's life partner, a painted turtle named Dr. Rutherford B. Hayes, gives out sage wisdom about life and changes. Daniel and Saint try to thwart buyers from buying the house, knowing it will get bulldozed like much of their town. Readers will rally around Daniel, Saint, and elderly toy store owner Muffins, while seeing the dilemmas faced by Saint's mom and Daniel's uncle, who are struggling to make ends meet and care for their children. With this hilarious book and its comical black-and-white illustrations throughout, Pastis (Timmy Failure) once again reaches out to reluctant readers with a multilayered tale of loss, grief, and growing up. VERDICT With an imaginative ending that will make readers think, there is more than meets the eye in this funny gem.--Michele Shaw

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Imagination and drawing help two grieving children in this illustrated novel by the creator of the popular Timmy Failure series and the comic strip "Pearls Before Swine." Things are not looking up for Saint ("I wasn't named for a bearded guy in heaven. I was named for a football team in Louisiana"). Her favorite toy store is demolished, and her beloved diner closes. It's all part of the gentrification for which she holds her single mother, who works long hours as a real estate agent and frequently breaks her promises, responsible. Saint very much likes reticent neighbor Daniel "Chance" McGibbons, who uses a cane, but first she has to win his friendship after an awkward beginning at his birthday party. When the uncle Chance lives with sells to developers, Saint's determination to save his home penetrates Chance's reserve. The kids' subsequent shenanigans will delight readers. The story is generously illustrated with Pastis' characteristic black-and-white cartoon line drawings, mostly of the two round-headed kids, whose hair and skin are as white as the page. Longtime neighborhood resident Old Lady Trifaldi helps Saint learn to cope with change by looking at the stars from her roof, "to make time go backward." Pastis fills this deceptively simple first-person account with humor, puns, turns, and twists--and the final twist gives this friendship tale its surprising depth. Words and art combine to create a moving story. (Fiction. 9-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Chapter 1: Pin the Tail on the Daniel * Chapter 1* PIN THE TAIL ON THE DANIEL You know you're a square peg in a round world when you find you're the only person at the birthday party defending the piñata. As I had the tailless donkey. And the gnome-themed cake. For I was a sucker for anything with a face. Its salvation my destiny. And no face required saving more than the round one belonging to Daniel "Chance" McGibbons. Who had to keep being reminded by his father to stop drawing and at least talk to the other kids at the birthday party. As it was his birthday party. But the act of talking seemed to pain him almost as much as the pummeling of the piñata pained me. Though I didn't know why. For as much as I admired the shape of his adorably round face, I knew next to nothing about him. Other than the fact that he lived across the street from me. Which was the only reason I had even been invited to this gathering of what were otherwise just his classmates. Who, truth be told, appeared to know as little about Daniel as I did. Aside from the obvious. Like the fact that he was the only kid any of us knew who walked with a cane. Which I thought only old people used. And which may have been the cause of his shyness. But whether it was the cane or just an aversion to social events, Daniel's absence as host and birthday boy left a void that could be felt by all, most notably his father. Who seemed as graceful and sociable as Daniel was not. And who wanted Daniel to participate in his birthday party not so much for the sake of Daniel, but for his own desire to not be embarrassed around the other parents. And sensing Daniel's distress, I stepped in to fill the void. For having ostracized myself among this group of strangers by attempting to save the piñata, donkey, and gnome, I had little left to lose. And so I climbed atop a barstool in the living room and waxed eloquent. On the benefits of shopping local. The merits of print journalism. And the pitfalls of birthday hats upon soft, malleable hair. None of which seemed to connect with my peers. And so I tried to be slightly more topical by saying a few kind words about the birthday boy, who I could see standing behind the other kids, as he had been made to do by his father. But because I knew so little about him, I could only talk about what I had seen. So I praised his resilience (the cane), his creativity (the drawing), and his listening skills (his silence). And did not notice until it was too late that each time I said his name, he was taking one giant step backward. As though each word of praise were somehow a lance to the belly. Until he was left standing with his back against the wall. Pinned there by unintentional cruelty. Like the donkey without a tail. And seeing that I had unwittingly hurt the one round face I'd sought to save, I did the only noble thing I could. I grabbed the piñata and fled. Excerpted from Looking Up by Stephan Pastis All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.