An orphan boy continues searching for freedom amid the social and political chaos of 14th-century England in this swiftly paced sequel to Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2004). After discovering his true identity, Crispin and his fierce, but genial, protector Bear seek refuge in the countryside. Pursued as an informer by members of a secret brotherhood, Bear is wounded. Alone and desperate, Crispin is forced to trust an ancient healer and her disfigured young companion Troth. Bear survives, but is greatly diminished. Crispin, Bear and Troth journey to Rye, a coastal city pillaged by the French. But with the brotherhood still tracking Bear, they must flee again, this time aboard a seafaring cog to Brittany. As the tightly bonded trio faces life-threatening events, Crispin “must think and act as a man” to protect those he loves and preserve the freedom he and Bear cherish. This moving, history-packed adventure leaves Crispin on the edge of the world and readers on the edge of their seats. Super storytelling. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-7868-5152-X
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Hyperion
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2006
It’s 1949, and 13-year-old Francine Green lives in “the land of ‘Sit down, Francine’ and ‘Be quiet, Francine’ ” at All Saints School for Girls in Los Angeles. When she meets Sophie Bowman and her father, she’s encouraged to think about issues in the news: the atomic bomb, peace, communism and blacklisting. This is not a story about the McCarthy era so much as one about how one girl—who has been trained to be quiet and obedient by her school, family, church and culture—learns to speak up for herself. Cushman offers a fine sense of the times with such cultural references as President Truman, Hopalong Cassidy, Montgomery Clift, Lucky Strike, “duck and cover” and the Iron Curtain. The dialogue is sharp, carrying a good part of this story of friends and foes, guilt and courage—a story that ought to send readers off to find out more about McCarthy, his witch-hunt and the First Amendment. Though not a happily-ever-after tale, it dramatizes how one person can stand up to unfairness, be it in front of Senate hearings or in the classroom. (author’s note) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2006
ISBN: 0-618-50455-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2006
From England’s Children’s Laureate, a searing WWI-era tale of a close extended family repeatedly struck by adversity and injustice. On vigil in the trenches, 17-year-old Thomas Peaceful looks back at a childhood marked by guilt over his father’s death, anger at the shabby treatment his strong-minded mother receives from the local squire and others—and deep devotion to her, to his brain-damaged brother Big Joe, and especially to his other older brother Charlie, whom he has followed into the army by lying about his age. Weaving telling incidents together, Morpurgo surrounds the Peacefuls with mean-spirited people at home, and devastating wartime experiences on the front, ultimately setting readers up for a final travesty following Charlie’s refusal of an order to abandon his badly wounded brother. Themes and small-town class issues here may find some resonance on this side of the pond, but the particular cultural and historical context will distance the story from American readers—particularly as the pace is deliberate, and the author’s hints about where it’s all heading are too rare and subtle to create much suspense. (Fiction. 11-13, adult)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-439-63648-5
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004
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