Kaleidoscope Eyes

Starred review from May 25, 2009
Growing up in New Jersey during the Vietnam War, 13-year-old Lyza has some battles of her own (“Whoever said 'the baby of the family/ gets all the sympathy'/ was clearly not
/ the baby”). When her mother walked out, “our family began to unravel/ like a tightly wound ball of string.” Then Lyza's grandfather dies, leaving her a box filled with cryptic maps and clues, which she learns relate to the pirate treasure of Capt. William Kidd. Lyza and her best friends Carolann and Malcolm get to work locating—and then hiding—the treasure. Lyza's thoughtful narration in verse gives Bryant's (Ringside 1925
) novel a strong sense of setting and reflects the teenager's conflicting emotions about adulthood: “I had to decide/ to stay safe in the harbor, like my father,/ or to push out to sea, like Gramps.” Her observations also betray an engaging sense of humor (Denise, her older sister, “has no interest in anything/ she can't smoke, wear, or sing”). Sincere and well-paced, with the backdrop of a tumultuous period in history, the story is not easily forgotten. Ages 9–13.

June 1, 2009
Gr 5-8-In this free-verse novel set during the Vietnam War era, 13-year-old Lyza Bradley lives with her professor father and hippie sister in Willowbank, NJ. Her mother deserted them two years earlier, a mystery that lingers in Lyza's thoughts. Cleaning out her recently deceased grandfather's house, the teen finds his legacy to heran envelope with clues to the location of Captain William Kidd's lost treasure. She enlists the help of her friends Malcolm and Carolann to locate and excavate the site. Against this story, Bryant inserts poems describing Lyza's family dynamics, racism, and the draft. This book offers a meaty adventure alongside coming-of-age reflections. As Lyza follows Gramps's maps, she examines the trickle of desegregation (Malcolm is African American), the impact of the war, and the way her family grounds and connects her. The story's format yields spare sensory memories that emerge with little reliance on dialogue and lengthy narration. The one shortcoming is the conclusion. Lyza has kept the treasure hunt a tremendous secret, and its final revelation is less dramatic than Bryant's buildup promised. "Kaleidoscope Eyes" invites readers to visit the recent past and experience its rich complexity."Caitlin Augusta, The Darien Library, CT"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2009
Grades 5-7 The summer of 1968 provides a fertile backdrop for Bryants verse novel about Lyza, her friends, and their hunt for Captain Kidds lost treasure in a New Jersey neighborhood. While cleaning out her recently deceased, thrill-seeking grandfathers house, Lyza finds a plain envelope with her name on it. Inside are maps and vague clues about one last adventure that he saved for her. Lyza enlists her friends Malcolm and Carolann, a tall, shy black guy and a small, hyperactive white girl, swearing them to secrecy. Their sneaking around leads to a grounding, which leads to more sneaking around. For a story involving pirate treasure, it takes awhile to pick up speed. The poetry format doesnt always seem purposeful, and the ending is implausible. However, the characters are endearing and the setting is vivid. The events of the small town filter into the teens lives in realistic ways: Malcolms older brother is drafted, Lyzas older sister is a hippie, and boys they know are killed in the war or come home changed forever.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)