Life Magic

Crystal has two gifted sisters and feels as if she is not special at all, until she is befriended by her Uncle Joe, learns that he is dying of AIDS, and has to find a way to keep the family strong, in the process learning to appreciate the inner gifts she possesses.

Grade 4-6. Crystal's uncle Joe is dying of AIDS. The story line doesn't provide much factual information about the virus and considerably underplays the progression of the disease that results in the death of a beloved family member. Readers never know how the man got HIV/AIDS. The family and general community appear to just understand his health status. While acceptance of HIV-positive people is an important goal, it seems unrealistic that his three nieces would not ask a whole series of questions. The story tends to duck other issues as well, such as the disappearance and reentry of the father into Crystal's family life. The overall tone is amazingly cheerful from an adult standpoint. Crystal's grief when her uncle dies is perhaps the most realistic portion of the novel. The general theme of the book, Crystal's desire to be special, and the general lighthearted tone, provides an odd counterpoint to the issues of death and dying surrounding her.?Melissa Gross, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Predictable as a sunrise, this sequel to Life Riddles (1993) explores the emotional effects of seeing AIDS kill a beloved relative. Sixth grader Crystal is feeling low, especially since sister Janelle is already a published author and best friend Shawna stars in dance recitals. The news that Uncle Joe is flying in cheers her; when he arrives, he seems to be the same, still dashing out to make snow angels with her, but as months go by he loses weight and energy, and finally tells Crystal about his AIDS. Crystal wonders why she feels so numb; at last she explodes at a class bully, who tearfully reveals that his mother had AIDS, too. ``Enemies become friends paired when simultaneous feelings are shared,'' summarizes her aunt, a librarian with an endless fund of aphorisms. When Joe dies (offstage), Crystal suddenly discovers that she's inherited his artistic talent, and sees, out her window one morning, a snow angel with no footprints around it. Although this spans the gap--strictly in terms of reading level--between picture books like Leslea Newman's Too Far Away To Touch (1995) and the still-growing phalanx of pre-teen and YA novels, the unlikely plot, superficial character development, and near-total lack of information about the disease make it a shaky bridge, at best. (Fiction. 9-11) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 4^-6. Crystal feels humiliated that she has to spend time in the sixth-grade remedial reading class, especially since her older sister is always winning prizes at school. It helps her a lot when her beloved uncle Joe comes back home; he's an artist, and he always makes her feel special and important. But then she discovers that he is dying of AIDS. As in her Life Riddles (1994), Cooper creates a warm African American extended family in a supportive urban community. They see each other through hard times. It's a bit far-fetched that Crystal discovers her latent artistic talent after her uncle dies, but her grief is heartfelt, and there's no slick comfort there, even as she moves through the stages from denial to howling sorrow and, finally, some acceptance. Her aunt's wise epigrams are preachy ("Sometimes when one door shuts, another one opens" ), but they do say what the people in the story experience. An excellent bibliotherapy book to help middle-schoolers talk about AIDS and cope with the death of a loved one. Hazel Rochman