A high-stakes historical adventure full of emotional, social and political drama.
Historical middle-grade fiction about a 12-year-old Scottish girl forced to flee her home and travel to the New World in the year 1692.
Debut novelist Macreery tells thestory of Dory MacDonald, a survivor of the massacre of Glencoe, an attack on three Scottish settlements ordered by the king of England in the late 1600s. The book begins as the MacDonald clan is ambushed by members of a rival clan in league with William of Orange, the British monarch. Dory, along with her parents and a small fraction of her clan, escapes the attack. As the group takes cover in the freezing woods of the Scottish Highlands, Dory’s mother falls ill and dies. Before Dory can even confront her grief, her father insists that she leave Scotland and travel to the New World, where she may take refuge with her mother’s sister in a place called Massachusetts. Although devastated by her apparent banishment, Dory comes to understand that since she is the granddaughter of her clan’s chief, she has a duty to survive. As war continues in Scotland, Dory must get to safety to preserve the history of her people. She thus begins a journey, first trekking across Scotland and then traveling the sea. As Macreery depicts the difficult voyage, she emphasizes Dory’s loneliness and fear while providing fascinating details about Scotland’s people, terrain and wildlife, as well as the hardships of ocean crossings in the 17th century. When Dory finally arrives in Massachusetts, the action continues as she finds herself in the midst of the famous Salem witch trials. Macreery’s well-researched story is chock-full of historical information seamlessly woven into Dory’s quest to extricate herself from one dangerous situation after another. In light of the death and devastation presented throughout the book, this story isn’t for the faint of heart. Regardless, the fast pace and suspense-filled pages will keep younger teens engrossed while providing notable history lessons.
A high-stakes historical adventure full of emotional, social and political drama.Pub Date: April 28, 2014
ISBN: 978-1478733461
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Outskirts Press Inc.
Review Posted Online: June 6, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A nice but not requisite purchase.
A retelling of the classic fairy tale in board-book format and with a Mexican setting.
Though simplified for a younger audience, the text still relates the well-known tale: mean-spirited stepmother, spoiled stepsisters, overworked Cinderella, fairy godmother, glass slipper, charming prince, and, of course, happily-ever-after. What gives this book its flavor is the artwork. Within its Mexican setting, the characters are olive-skinned and dark-haired. Cultural references abound, as when a messenger comes carrying a banner announcing a “FIESTA” in beautiful papel picado. Cinderella is the picture of beauty, with her hair up in ribbons and flowers and her typically Mexican many-layered white dress. The companion volume, Snow White, set in Japan and illustrated by Misa Saburi, follows the same format. The simplified text tells the story of the beautiful princess sent to the forest by her wicked stepmother to be “done away with,” the dwarves that take her in, and, eventually, the happily-ever-after ending. Here too, what gives the book its flavor is the artwork. The characters wear traditional clothing, and the dwarves’ house has the requisite shoji screens, tatami mats and cherry blossoms in the garden. The puzzling question is, why the board-book presentation? Though the text is simplified, it’s still beyond the board-book audience, and the illustrations deserve full-size books.
A nice but not requisite purchase. (Board book/fairy tale. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4814-7915-8
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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