It's been over ten years since The Chocolate War (1974), but the action in this sequel takes place only a few months after the original ugly doings at Trinity High—a boys' day school in drab mid-New England. The Vigils, the secret society headed by cold, manipulative senior Archie Costello, is still going strong. Brother Leon, the slimy teacher who has become Archie's quasi-partner in dictatorial evil, is now the Headmaster. And the one student who stood up to Archie in The Chocolate War—Jerry Renault—is at home, still recuperating from the physical/psychic damage of his doomed attempt at individualistic defiance. As the end of the school year approaches, however, two of Archie's longtime student-henchmen will become increasingly disaffected, secretly rebellious. Carter, clumsy super-jock and Vigils "president," is horrified by Archie's latest scheme—a plan to humiliate both Brother Leon and the Bishop (!) during an upcoming assembly; so he sends an anonymous warning to Brother Leon. . . and suffers the consequences when Archie (a subtle tormentor) finds out. Meanwhile, Archie's sometime confidant Obie, in wild love with Laurie Gundarson, loses interest in The Vigils; when Laurie is nearly raped by a trio of Vigils henchmen, Obie loses her—and vows revenge on Archie (who inspired but didn't order the attack). Still, though Obie is clever and gutsy in his scheme to humiliate and frighten Archie on Fair Day, he finds that his hatred has made him into someone just as monstrous as Archie (near-fatal tricks with a magic-show guillotine)—while Jerry Renault decides, after another run-in with Vigils violence, to return to Trinity High, ready to "outlast" the bullies rather than fight them. Cormier overdoes the gangland-style villainy and mayhem this time around. (There's also the suicide of one of Brother Leon's student-victims.) The tangle of power/violence/evil themes involves some heavyhanded summations and more than a few unconvincing moments—especially when it comes to Obie's near-murder of Satan-symbol Archie. But, for the many fans of The Chocolate War: another dark, intense melodrama—with another downbeat, Evil-Goes-On ending.
Pub Date: April 21, 1985
ISBN: 044090580X
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1985
Thought-provoking and charming.
A sophisticated robot—with the capacity to use senses of sight, hearing, and smell—is washed to shore on an island, the only robot survivor of a cargo of 500.
When otters play with her protective packaging, the robot is accidently activated. Roz, though without emotions, is intelligent and versatile. She can observe and learn in service of both her survival and her principle function: to help. Brown links these basic functions to the kind of evolution Roz undergoes as she figures out how to stay dry and intact in her wild environment—not easy, with pine cones and poop dropping from above, stormy weather, and a family of cranky bears. She learns to understand and eventually speak the language of the wild creatures (each species with its different “accent”). An accident leaves her the sole protector of a baby goose, and Roz must ask other creatures for help to shelter and feed the gosling. Roz’s growing connection with her environment is sweetly funny, reminiscent of Randall Jarrell’s The Animal Family. At every moment Roz’s actions seem plausible and logical yet surprisingly full of something like feeling. Robot hunters with guns figure into the climax of the story as the outside world intrudes. While the end to Roz’s benign and wild life is startling and violent, Brown leaves Roz and her companions—and readers—with hope.
Thought-provoking and charming. (Science fiction/fantasy. 7-11)Pub Date: April 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-316-38199-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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