Hold on to your tunic and truncheon in this action-filled adventure.
A boy in medieval Italy flees his cruel master and strikes out for freedom.
Faced with being publicly branded by Malaspina, his bad-tempered master, 14-year-old Bec musters his wits, strength, and agility for a daring escape to the forest, planning to make his way south to Ponti. Bec, whose mother has died and whose father is unknown, counts horses and dogs as his best companions and is prepared to make the perilous journey alone. But a chance encounter with a black-haired boy wearing a gold earring results in the two renegades deciding to travel together. Tien Nu, whose Chinese father came from Samarkand and whose mother came from “Alessandria” in “Africa,” is an entertainer who juggles and tumbles—and he carries a heavy secret. Tien Nu teaches Bec some tricks of his trade as they get lost in mysterious tunnels, perform acrobatics and illusions at a wedding, and stay just a few steps ahead of Malaspina, who’s placed a bounty on Bec’s head. Short chapters keep the story moving, with narrow escapes, a dead body, and several bloody battles along the way, while family mysteries are untangled more gently. The characters speak in a casual, modern style, which occasionally distracts but overall reads well. Caparo’s beautifully detailed graphite pencil and digital illustrations add to the enjoyment.
Hold on to your tunic and truncheon in this action-filled adventure. (map, author interview) (Fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780889957237
Page Count: 314
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
An outstanding new edition of this popular modern classic (Newbery Award, 1961), with an introduction by Zena Sutherland and...
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1990
ISBN: 0-395-53680-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A beautiful tale of perseverance.
A young girl tackles a learning disability and the uncertainty of daily life in early-20th-century Cuba.
Ten years old at the tale’s opening, Josefa “Fefa” de la Caridad Uría Peña lives with her parents and 10 siblings on their farm, Goatzacoalco. Diagnosed with “word blindness” (a misnomer for dyslexia), Fefa struggles at school and in a home rich with words, including the writings of Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío. Discounting a doctor’s opinion that “Fefa will never be able / to read, or write, / or be happy / in school,” her mother gives her a blank diary: “Let the words sprout / like seedlings, / then relax and watch / as your wild diary / grows.” Basing her tale on the life of her maternal grandmother, Engle captures the frustrations, setbacks and triumphs of Fefa’s language development in this often lyrical free-verse novel. Her reading difficulties are heightened when bandits begin roving the countryside, kidnapping local children for ransom: “All I can think of / is learning how / to read / terrifying / ransom notes.” The author gives readers a portrait of a tumultuous period in Cuban history and skillfully integrates island flora, fauna and mythology into Fefa’s first-person tale. This canvas heightens Fefa’s determination to rise above the expectations of her siblings, peers and society.
A beautiful tale of perseverance. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-58131-6
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2012
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