SOLSTICE: A Mystery of the Season

by Jan Adkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 1990

After his parents quarrel, Charlie Ives and his dad drive to Maine and set out for a familiar island. When their outboard fails, they are taken in by Vern, a lonely old fisherman who makes them part of a Christmas/solstice celebration at which he is reconciled with his daughter and son-in-law, Nathaniel Feynman, a tailor. Vern's parting gift is a pair of handmade oars that get Charlie and his father back to shore and a reconciliation of their own, plus a discovery about their jovial, generous hosts that puts the whole experience in a surprising new light. While the third-person narrative is from Charlie's point of view, the issues here may be too adult to appeal to most children, even though the roots of the Iveses' marital quarrel are only hinted at and the anti-Semitism that has apparently estranged Vern from his daughter is never explicit. The celebration at the book's heart--a sort of Yankee Feeziwig's Ball--is described with heartwarming affection, but only some of its puzzles are cleared up in the conclusion: this attractively small (6"" by 6"") volume is marred not only by typos and curious anachronisms but by such anomalies as a text that mentions six places at table, a nicely detailed illustration that shows eight--and seven characters who actually dine together. Thus, a less-than-total success, but still an intriguing story for the Christmas season.

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 1990

ISBN: 0937822817

Page Count: 85

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1990

Categories: CHILDREN'S