Alexander's latest once-upon-a-time adventure, unfolded this time with no recourse to magic, brings Theo, an orphaned printer's devil and a true innocent, up against a repressive government that has policemen break into the printing shop, kill his master, and destroy the press—all because they've accepted an order from a traveling quack, the self-styled Dr. Absalom. Theo, in the melée, knocks out an officer, fears he's killed him (and agonizes later because he'd momentarily wanted to), and so becomes a fugitive. (When he goes to report the incident, a sympathetic local policeman as much as orders him to flee.) For a while Thee travels reluctantly with Dr. Absalom himself, a likable rogue also known as Count Las Bombas, and becomes fond of Mickle, a street waif they pick up along the way. Later Thee falls in with a band of revolutionaries, though it's a while before he recognizes what they're up to, and he remains impartially perplexed over their opposition to monarchy per se vs. the more moderate position of their temporary ally, the exiled but loyal court doctor who just wants to get fid of the king's tyrannical chief minister Cabbarus. Cabbarus, we've learned, seized power while the distraught king grieved unendingly for his presumably dead daughter—but he's brought down now when Mickle's true identity is revealed. During the final unmasking, Thee appeases his conscience by risking his life to save that of the hated minister; and in the end he is closer to the monarchy than he'd ever expected to be. A cavalier treatment of the political questions raised earlier, but a colorful and nimbly executed adventure.
Pub Date: May 12, 1981
ISBN: 0141310685
Page Count: 184
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1981
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
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
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