Rose, poking along the bleak coast of Norfolk with her children Timothy and Jane, happens on an isolated cottage. Though it's primitive and filthy, the children talk Rose into letting it for a week. The three throw themselves into cleaning, with Rose welcoming the respite from her husband's heavy-handed authority. Mr. Gotobed, who comes to tidy the garden, turns fearful at the sight of an old handmade book. Menace multiplies: a surly tomcat, snares, a locked closet with preserved animal specimens, glowering villagers. It develops that owner Sepp Yaxley, who disappeared seven years ago, was a ``Cunning Man,'' murdered by the villagers when his magic seemed to fail. Thinking that Rose is taking his place, they threaten to kill her too, but Timothy's rifle and Yaxley's vengeful cat intervene. Rescued, Rose is left nearly as alienated by the coolly efficient Timothy—``demonic, tireless... damning souls to hell''—as by the frightened, vicious villagers. Though the book is cast as a conventional horror story, Westall deals with the larger issues of power, mercy, and the loss of compassion. Vacillating and insecure, Rose—whose point of view prevails—seems like a prime ninny, yielding decision to her children or her absent husband; still, she is the one left with an anguished query—``Is there no mercy anywhere?''— that's answered, ``Yes...in you yourself,'' by the kind vicar. And though there are loose connections here, the story suggests provocative questions, especially for those who note the stunning contrast between the cold intensity with which Timothy wounds his antagonists and Chas's ultimate understanding (in Westall's The Machine Gunners, 1976, Carnegie Medal) of the essential tragedy of shooting an enemy. A minor but entertaining effort by a major author. (Fiction. 11+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-590-45175-8
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1992
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
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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