by J. Alison James ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 17, 1993
Just before Runa arrives at her Swedish grandfather (``Morfar's'') home, she survives two life-threatening accidents- -a traffic mishap back in the US and a freak fall from the boat on the way to Gotland; once there, there's another in the old church tower, plus the unnerving discovery that, over the centuries, several girls in her family (including Morfar's sister) died accidentally on their 13th birthdays—on Midsummer's Day, as Runa's will be in a few days. Runa's fear that she'll be the next victim is intensified by visions of her Viking ancestors, revealing the terrible outcome of a mother's failure to return her child's love—a cruel sacrifice doomed to reenactment unless Runa can break the chain. The fantasy element here is unusually imaginative, drawing on the myths of Baldur and Iphigenia as well as Judeo-Christian tradition to explore the idea of sacrifice (or the scapegoat) and mounting to a startling climax. Meanwhile, James creates several likable, realistic characters, including Runa's two young Swedish friends and three adults. Breaking genre tradition, Runa confides in them all, to different degrees; unfortunately, their supportive responses are unevenly realized—nice, normal folk, their anxious sympathy and concerned advice sit uneasily with the heroism Runa summons to face the terror of what may be her impending death. Easy blends of fantasy and reality are rare—Susan Cooper and E. Nesbit come to mind. This isn't in their league; still, it's a vivid and compelling tale. (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: May 17, 1993
ISBN: 0-689-31708-5
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1993
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by John Boyne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 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
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
by Marina Budhos ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2006
Illegal immigrant sisters learn a lot about themselves when their family faces deportation in this compelling contemporary drama. Immigrants from Bangladesh, Nadira, her older sister Aisha and their parents live in New York City with expired visas. Fourteen-year-old Nadira describes herself as “the slow-wit second-born” who follows Aisha, the family star who’s on track for class valedictorian and a top-rate college. Everything changes when post-9/11 government crack-downs on Muslim immigrants push the family to seek asylum in Canada where they are turned away at the border and their father is arrested by U.S. immigration. The sisters return to New York living in constant fear of detection and trying to pretend everything is normal. As months pass, Aisha falls apart while Nadira uses her head in “a right way” to save her father and her family. Nadira’s need for acceptance by her family neatly parallels the family’s desire for acceptance in their adopted country. A perceptive peek into the lives of foreigners on the fringe. (endnote) (Fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2006
ISBN: 1-4169-0351-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Ginee Seo/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2005
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