Among the outpouring of new releases and reprints on the life of Houdini comes Cox’s (African American Teachers, not reviewed, etc.) biography with only Houdini’s piercing eyes, now a symbol of the man still known as the world’s greatest magician, gracing the cover. Born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, in 1874, Houdini and his family moved to the US in 1876. He grew up in poverty, until he bought a secondhand copy of the memoirs of Robert-Houdin, a famous magician of his time, and the rest, as the saying goes, was history. Cox reveals a man who, obsessed with breaking away from poverty and becoming famous, literally renamed himself and maintained a personal façade as illusive as his magic acts. Houdini’s obsessive personality carried over into his relationships, particularly with his mother, and because he was uneducated, it led him to develop an extensive library of magic books, letters, and other realia. Later in life, it served him to discredit fake mediums, eventually leading up to testimony before Congress. And of course it was his obsessive nature that drove him to dream up new acts, train athletically, and perform death-defying stunts, all to the detriment of his health. What will really keep readers turning the pages are Cox’s descriptions of Houdini’s legendary feats, including the Metamorphosis, Milk Can Escape, and the Vanishing Elephant, and his genius as an escape artist. Cox sparks additional interest through depictions of the political sentiments of the time, such as the rampant discrimination the Jewish Houdini experienced throughout pre-WWI Europe. Gleaning information from Houdini’s journals (perhaps Houdini’s only truthful statements about himself) and primary sources from the time period, Cox presents a well-researched and fascinating account of a man whose life continues to mystify us. (b&w photographs, bibliography, index) (Biography. 11-15)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-590-94960-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Year-round fun.
Set in 1937 during the so-called “Roosevelt recession,” tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn’t “even have a picture show.”
This winning sequel takes place several years after A Long Way From Chicago (1998) leaves off, once again introducing the reader to Mary Alice, now 15, and her Grandma Dowdel, an indomitable, idiosyncratic woman who despite her hard-as-nails exterior is able to see her granddaughter with “eyes in the back of her heart.” Peck’s slice-of-life novel doesn’t have much in the way of a sustained plot; it could almost be a series of short stories strung together, but the narrative never flags, and the book, populated with distinctive, soulful characters who run the gamut from crazy to conventional, holds the reader’s interest throughout. And the vignettes, some involving a persnickety Grandma acting nasty while accomplishing a kindness, others in which she deflates an overblown ego or deals with a petty rivalry, are original and wildly funny. The arena may be a small hick town, but the battle for domination over that tiny turf is fierce, and Grandma Dowdel is a canny player for whom losing isn’t an option. The first-person narration is infused with rich, colorful language—“She was skinnier than a toothpick with termites”—and Mary Alice’s shrewd, prickly observations: “Anybody who thinks small towns are friendlier than big cities lives in a big city.”
Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 978-0-8037-2518-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Dial Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Drawing on her experience with a relief organization on the Thai border, Ho tells the story of a Cambodian family, fleeing the rival factions of the 80's while hoping to gather resources to return to farming in their homeland. Narrator Dara, 12, and the remnants of her family have arrived at a refugee camp soon after her father's summary execution. At first, the camp is a haven: food is plentiful, seed rice is available, and they form a bond with another family- -brother Sarun falls in love with Nea, and Dara makes friends with Nea's cousin, Jantu, who contrives marvelous toys from mud and bits of scrap; made wise by adversity, Jantu understands that the process of creation outweighs the value of things, and that dead loved ones may live on in memory. The respite is brief: Vietnamese bombing disrupts the camp, and the family is temporarily but terrifyingly separated. Later, Jantu is wounded by friendly fire and doesn't survive; but her tragic death empowers Dara to confront Sarun, who's caught up in mindless militarism instigated by a charismatic leader, and persuade him to travel home with the others—to plant rice and build a family instead of waging war. Again, Ho (Rice Without Rain, 1990) skillfully shapes her story to dramatize political and humanitarian issues. The easily swayed Sarun lacks dimension, but the girls are more subtly drawn—Dara's growing courage and assertiveness are especially convincing and admirable. Touching, authentic, carefully wrought- -and with an unusually appealing jacket. (Fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-374-31340-7
Page Count: 163
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
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