Caitlin, 13, treasures the intimacy of an annual camp-out alone with her sister. This time, she's devastated to discover that Pam is giving all her attention to a young man she met during her first year at college. Pam has arranged to meet Alex at the museum commemorating the disastrous Hinckley, Minnesota, fire of 1894. When he shows up just after she's seen the museum film, Caitlin has a terrifying vision of the fire and hears the desperate cries of an orphan boy who died in it. Neither Pam nor Alex gives her story credence; but after days of becoming more at odds with Pam, and of repeated glimpses of the oddly dressed ``Frank''—who she's forced to admit is the orphan's ghost after she rides a bike through him—Alex confesses that he, too, has been plagued by the persistent spirit, who's now seeking comfort elsewhere because Alex is preoccupied with Pam. The prospect that Frank will haunt her forever grows more appalling when Caitlin realizes (after finding him in a toilet stall she'd planned to use) that he wants to be with her every second; in the end— unwittingly but courageously—she sets him to rest by her response to his cries. In Bauer's capable hands, the ghost story receives added depth from its interaction with present-day characters. Each sister is hurt by the other's unwillingness to hear about recent changes in her life; Frank makes an intriguing manifestation of their frustration. Well crafted and entertaining. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1993
ISBN: 0-395-64341-4
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A sequel to the most popular of Paulsen's three Newbery Honor books (Hatchet, 1987), based on an unlikely premise— government researchers want Brian to reenact his northwoods survival so that his strategies can be observed and taught to others. Derek, a young psychologist, and Brian are dropped off at another Canadian lake, near the first one, equipped only with knives and a radio that Derek has promised not to use except in a dire emergency. Everything goes all too smoothly until their camp is struck by lightning, zapping the radio and leaving Derek in a coma. Brian manages to float Derek 100 miles down a river to a trading post, thus saving his life. The lyrically described details of Brian's adventure— building a fire, making a raft—are of most interest here; for all its graphically evoked perils (rapids, the craft's unwieldiness, exhaustion), the journey's successful outcome seems less in doubt than did the outcome of the compelling autobiographical wilderness experiences described in Woodsong (1990). In Hatchet, Brian discovered his own strength, adding depth, complexity, and tension to the story; here, that strength is a given—as he himself points out. Perfunctory in design but vividly written, a book that will, as intended, please the readers who hoped that Paulsen, like Brian, would "do it again." (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-385-30388-2
Page Count: 133
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1991
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