Dark, sparse and compelling.
A graphic-novel rendition of an Inuit folk tale tells of two brothers who cross into another world and the lengths to which one goes to get back home.
When food becomes scarce, two brothers journey out to hunt and find themselves lost and adrift upon the sea. The younger brother questions their fate, and the older assures him, “I will get us home! I will see my wife again.” Arriving in a strange village, they split up to find its inhabitants. The older brother happens upon an old woman who warns him that he is in “the country of wolves,” where “hu-mans” are “not safe.” Thanks to the advice she gives him, he narrowly escapes from the Country of Wolves back to his home and his wife, as he had sworn—only without his brother. While intriguing, this richly drawn offering treads a bit too lightly over some aspects of Inuit culture for those who do not share it. There is no glossary of Inuit words, for instance, to help non-Inuit readers understand and contextualize their meanings. Christopher tells readers that “ancient tales tell of magical events that happened before the modern world invaded the hidden places”; however, some additional material explaining this tale’s particular significance may help modern audiences, particularly those not of the culture, relate. A DVD with an animated version is also included and is not to be missed.
Dark, sparse and compelling. (Graphic folk tale. 13 & up)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-927095-04-1
Page Count: 100
Publisher: Inhabit Media
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2013
Sensitive subject matter that could have benefited from a subtler, more sober touch.
A Jewish girl joins up with Polish resistance groups to fight for her people against the evils of the Holocaust.
Chaya Lindner is forcibly separated from her family when they are consigned to the Jewish ghetto in Krakow. The 16-year-old is taken in by the leaders of Akiva, a fledgling Jewish resistance group that offers her the opportunity to become a courier, using her fair coloring to pass for Polish and sneak into ghettos to smuggle in supplies and information. Chaya’s missions quickly become more dangerous, taking her on a perilous journey from a disastrous mission in Krakow to the ghastly ghetto of Lodz and eventually to Warsaw to aid the Jews there in their gathering uprising inside the walls of the ghetto. Through it all, she is partnered with a secretive young girl whom she is reluctant to trust. The trajectory of the narrative skews toward the sensational, highlighting moments of resistance via cinematic action sequences but not pausing to linger on the emotional toll of the Holocaust’s atrocities. Younger readers without sufficient historical knowledge may not appreciate the gravity of the events depicted. The principal characters lack depth, and their actions and the situations they find themselves in often require too much suspension of disbelief to pass for realism.
Sensitive subject matter that could have benefited from a subtler, more sober touch. (afterword) (Historical fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-338-14847-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
Whyman’s British Addams Family of man-eaters certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but for those who like their humor...
Dinner with the Savages can be murder.
Sixteen-year-old Sasha Savage has a new boyfriend. Jack is a year ahead of her in school, but that’s not what causes a family controversy: He’s a vegetarian, and the Savages are…well, they’re cannibals. Ever since Grandpa was in the siege of Leningrad, the family has ritualistically, on occasion, feasted on human flesh, but they are always respectful to the source and waste as little as possible. Sasha’s father, Titus, was born and raised in England. He’s a predatory businessman; he orchestrates hostile takeovers of companies. It’s this practice that has private detective Vernon English tailing Titus. Then a model fatally falls prey to a prank directed at Sasha by her younger brother, Ivan. Vernon doesn’t know the specifics behind her disappearance, but he’s sure something more than illegal business deals is going on. Can Sasha introduce her controversial boyfriend to the family, and can they all keep Vernon from finding out the family’s culinary peculiarity? Making fun of foodies and vegetarians alike, this is neither a laugh riot nor a page-turning thriller, but readers seeking a little grisly diversion may be entertained.
Whyman’s British Addams Family of man-eaters certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste, but for those who like their humor very, very dry, it may just hit the spot. (Fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: March 6, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4683-0856-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
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