An accessible, historically rigorous tale.
Barnhart (The Big Divide, 2013) offers a YA novel about faith and courage, inspired by the true story of an immigrant who joined Kansas’ anti-slavery cause during the Civil War.
Former Kansas City Star television critic Barnhart previously published a travel guide to Civil War sites in the Missouri-Kansas region. This likable, teen-friendly novel ably resurrects a historical figure who participated in the abolitionist struggle there: Anschl (aka “August”) Bondi (1833–1907). Barnhart acknowledges his debt to two obscure works: Bondi’s posthumously published 1910 autobiography and Border Hawk, a 1958 novel by Lloyd Alexander. The story opens in Bondi’s native Vienna in 1848, with the 15-year-old fighting for freedom from despotic Prince Metternich. When his family sails to America, the same revolutionary spirit sparks his objection to the hypocrisy of slavery in the land of liberty. After a spell on a Texas riverboat, Bondi moves to Kansas Territory, a disputed slave region, to stake a claim and help his friend Jacob run his store. The biographical rundown can be somewhat tedious, but the pace picks up significantly at the halfway point, as Bondi meets famed abolitionist John Brown and his sons and war thunders closer. Although he feels uneasy about Brown’s methods, he admires his dedication to abolition: “We are fighting on the same side. If I do not agree with you, I do not judge you,” he reassures Brown. This is representative of the simple yet believable dialogue throughout. Moreover, Barnhart sets up a strong metaphorical connection between Bondi and the slaves, whose rights he later fights for in the Union Army’s Fifth Kansas regiment; because he experiences anti-Semitism himself, Bondi empathizes with the slaves’ persecution. Meanwhile, Jewish rituals provide a rich symbolic structure for Bondi’s coming-of-age journey. Reunited with his parents in Kansas, the family celebrates a Sabbath meal together. His wedding to Henrietta Einstein adheres to Jewish custom, and when he assumes he’s dying in battle, he recites the Shema, the ancient Hebrew declaration of faith. Maps (not seen) and a black-and-white photo of Bondi make this novel a potential supplement to U.S. history studies at the middle school or high school level.
An accessible, historically rigorous tale.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9669258-6-9
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Quindaro Press
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Bagdasarian’s moving story of the little-told horror of the Armenian genocide is based on the recorded account by his great uncle. The narrative follows Vahan Kendarian from age 12 to 16, from a somewhat spoiled and confident school cut-up to a somber and steely young man. He watches as his brothers are shot and his sister takes poison and dies to avoid rape. He is molested himself, and nurses several companions to their deaths. He also builds a sense of his own inner character as he puts on many outward disguises, traveling from one dangerous situation to the next. If the narrative itself seems to wander and stumble through these experiences imparting little sense of direction, it does add to the mood of confusion, despair, and occasional unfounded hope. The lack of contextual material may frustrate some readers (WWI is not mentioned, and the presence of German and Russian military in Turkey not fully explained), but the short foreword does give just enough information to set the scene, and plunges readers, along with Vahan, into a terrifying situation they may not fully comprehend at first. There is very little material available to young readers on this subject. Kerop Bedoukian’s Some of Us Survived (1978) and David Kherdian’s Newbery Honor book The Road from Home (1979) are still in print, but this should find a new and appreciative readership. (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7894-2627-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
More than a decade after the publication of the first books in this trilogy (Which Way Freedom, 1986; Out From This Place 1988), Hansen completes her story of Obi and Easter, two escaped slaves from South Carolina, who become separated during the Civil War. After leaving the army, Obi searches for Easter, learning that she has moved to Philadelphia to become a teacher, but intends to establish her home in the black settlement of New Canaan. While awaiting her return, Obi struggles to care for Grace, Scipio, and Araba, three orphans who fled a massacre in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a black town destroyed by whites. Much of the story is told in letters between Obi and Easter, as Obi fights storms, disease, and bigotry while he builds a carpentry business. His love for Easter and her determination to help build New Canaan finally leads Obi to find his place in life. While the earlier novels set forth the romance more clearly, this one is just as strong in its enlivening depiction of African-American history. Hansen deftly weaves real historical events into the novel, presenting a vivid account of a budding black settlement during Reconstruction. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8027-8636-7
Page Count: 174
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
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