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WILD GEESE

Name: WILD GEESE
Author: Caroline Pignat
ISBN: 978-0-88995-432-8

by Caroline Pignat ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2010

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In Greener Grass (2009), Pignat introduced readers to the plight of 15-year-old Kit as she suffered the horrifying consequences of the 1847 Irish famine. This sequel takes up days after the previous work ended and, like its predecessor, is narrated by its protagonist. Kit, pursued as a criminal, has safely made it on board an immigrant “coffin” ship bound for Canada, disguised as a boy and accompanied by Mick, her best friend. Along the way, with historically gritty authenticity, she encounters a lethal fever, near-starvation conditions and terrifying storms, while she desperately worries about her family, who sailed away before her. When she finally reaches Canada, there is more disease and separation as Kit struggles to find her way in a strange, often bleak new world. Although this title can stand alone, reading the first book will certainly enhance understanding of this harrowing, realistic look at the immigrant Irish experience. Actual relief workers of the era play important roles, and an author’s note offers more information about them and some of the places Kit visits on her journey. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0-88995-432-8

Page Count: 280

Publisher: Red Deer Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2010

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
POETREE
by Caroline Pignat ; illustrated by François Thisdale

- BOOK REVIEW
GREENER GRASS
by Caroline Pignat

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REFUGEE

by Alan Gratz ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2017

Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense.

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Our Verdict

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Kirkus Reviews'
Best Books Of 2017

New York Times Bestseller

Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner

In the midst of political turmoil, how do you escape the only country that you’ve ever known and navigate a new life? Parallel stories of three different middle school–aged refugees—Josef from Nazi Germany in 1938, Isabel from 1994 Cuba, and Mahmoud from 2015 Aleppo—eventually intertwine for maximum impact.

Three countries, three time periods, three brave protagonists. Yet these three refugee odysseys have so much in common. Each traverses a landscape ruled by a dictator and must balance freedom, family, and responsibility. Each initially leaves by boat, struggles between visibility and invisibility, copes with repeated obstacles and heart-wrenching loss, and gains resilience in the process. Each third-person narrative offers an accessible look at migration under duress, in which the behavior of familiar adults changes unpredictably, strangers exploit the vulnerabilities of transients, and circumstances seem driven by random luck. Mahmoud eventually concludes that visibility is best: “See us….Hear us. Help us.” With this book, Gratz accomplishes a feat that is nothing short of brilliant, offering a skillfully wrought narrative laced with global and intergenerational reverberations that signal hope for the future. Excellent for older middle grade and above in classrooms, book groups, and/or communities looking to increase empathy for new and existing arrivals from afar.

Poignant, respectful, and historically accurate while pulsating with emotional turmoil, adventure, and suspense. (maps, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)