In this fast-paced but flawed historical novel, Hahn (Anna All Year Round, 1998, etc.) recounts the harrowing story, told in the first person, of a journey undertaken by two young boys in the early days of the Civil War and of the bond that develops between them. Twelve-year-old Jesse Sherman is accosted at knifepoint in the woods near his home in rural Maryland by Lydia, a dying runaway slave, who implores Jesse to take her small son, Perry, to a white friend in Baltimore. Perry is the child of this friend’s deceased brother, and Lydia believes that she is Perry's only hope for safety. After Lydia dies, the boys make their way to Baltimore, where they get caught up in a riot instigated by Confederate sympathizers against Union troops heading South. Jesse is brutally attacked by his nemesis, a vicious slave hunter, who kidnaps Perry. The boys are ultimately reunited—with great difficulty—but their troubles are hardly over. Through an unlikely coincidence, they easily locate Lydia’s friend, but she proves unhelpful. Other setbacks include an armed skirmish; the reappearance of the slave hunter seemingly at every turn; and the ever-present dangers that beset other runaway slaves the boys meet (some of who turn out to be Perry's relatives). While the dialogue is frequently uneven and some plot details are not always credible, the action and suspense will keep readers interested, as will the touching friendship forged by the two protagonists and the startling revelation at the end that forces Jesse to keep yet other promises to the dead. Historical events are placed in context in an afterward. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: April 17, 2000
ISBN: 0-395-96394-X
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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