Fans of the Western genre are sure to find much to love, but the appealing story and characters could also appease all types...
Hidden treasure, a young girl on the run and revenge-minded scoundrels with itchy trigger fingers populate Robert’s (Treasure at El Dorado, 2011) second Western novel.
While evading a band of Apaches in the Sonoran Desert, Bo Logan stumbles upon a hidden valley with a cabin and a productive gold mine. He also discovers letters; unsure of what’s happened to the miner, Bo takes it upon himself to locate the man’s daughter, Bonnie. The girl, meanwhile, manages to escape the atrocious confines of a workhouse and begins a demanding journey to find her father, Tom. A deadly encounter in a saloon has the villainous John Skinner and his men on Bo’s trail, too. Roberts’ book has all the indications of a Western—strength is measured by how quickly a man can draw his gun—but it’s the dramatic resolve that truly drives the story. Bo in particular is literally surrounded by narrative stimuli: Bonnie somewhere ahead of him; Mary, a cafe owner in Tucson who catches Bo’s eye and heart; and the men behind him who would very much prefer him dead. The storyline benefits from its colorful cast of characters, including an undercover U.S. Marshal and a dirty sheriff. A variety of motives propel them: Bo and Bonnie searching separately for Bonnie’s father, an Apache man looking for his wife’s killer, and a greedy professor from Bonnie’s old school with a one-track mind for profits. Bonnie’s trek makes up the majority of the novel’s more profound passages in a plot thread that is also frequently woeful; fortunately, Roberts eases the tension with welcome bits of comic relief, e.g., Bonnie, posing as a boy, standing in the wrong line for the restroom. Notably, Roberts allows the narrative twist to slowly build and naturally reveal itself, without nudging or eye-winking.
Fans of the Western genre are sure to find much to love, but the appealing story and characters could also appease all types of readers.Pub Date: March 29, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615580852
Page Count: 302
Publisher: DOGRIDGE
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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