A good bet for fans of historical fiction.
Fourteen-year-old Martin must run the family farm after his father is seriously injured in an accident.
The management of the homestead is all the more complicated because his mother, grief-stricken over the death of Martin’s brother, abuses patent medicines, rendering her more passive spectator than participant. Nevertheless, Martin takes on the challenge of getting a crop into the ground. He’s aided by a Roma boy, Samson, whom he befriends. Rumors hint at a family treasure lost on the farm. Martin discovers his aunt Cora’s diary, penned nearly 40 years before and ending with her childhood death. It contains clues to the treasure, if only he can step out of his self-focus to understand them. While he’s believably limned, other characters are less well-developed, diminishing their impact. Set in rural Minnesota in 1903, this evocative effort neatly weaves in period details. It reflects the demands of farming and the significant prejudice that was harbored by the white farmers against the Roma, documented both in the story that depicts their culture and in an informative author’s note. (Both story and author’s note use “Roma” and “Gypsy,” depending on context.) Although the story is focused on Martin’s coming-of-age and his evolving friendship with Samson, the treasure hunt subplot adds additional drama.
A good bet for fans of historical fiction. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: May 19, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8166-9956-8
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Univ. of Minnesota
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2016
Continuing the saga begun in Nobody’s Princess (2007), a fictional Helen (of Homeric fame) goes on the quest for the Golden Fleece with Jason and the Argonauts, disguised initially as a weapons carrier. When her gender is discovered, she pretends instead to be Atalanta, the famous huntress. Events proceed as in the myth (the Isle of Lemnos, the Harpies, Medea, etc.), though this version is purposefully mundane. As in the first book, Helen is a spunky tomboy who just wants to be herself, a thoroughly modern character borne of the reading public’s current fascination with Greek mythology and the Princess Diaries phenomenon. The story lacks narrative tension or character development, as Friesner simply overlays this conceit upon set events which seem to unfold as if preordained, never taking the reader anywhere beyond this rather limited exposé of certain Greek myths. This is certainly not the last in the series, which will have its fans. Anyone needing another strong-female-character-with-a-sword series will enjoy it, but it is only mildly accomplished and strongly forgettable. (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: April 22, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-375-87531-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2008
Set in an alternative feudal-ish Japan, this is the story of five kids with severe disabilities or disfigurements who have been accepted for training in a school for samurai. The unusual Cockroach Ryu is directed by the elderly, highly respected (and amusingly crotchety) samurai Ki-Yaga. Ki-Yaga and his equally cranky horse, Uma, are distinct as characters and add much to the book—humor, tactics and the use of pudding as a tool for success. The plot starts unusually slowly, limiting tension, suspense and probably audience, since adventure fans expect lashings of the first two qualities from the start. And the five students in this book are identified primarily by their disabilities (blindness, one leg, one arm, having six fingers, fear of fighting) for the first third of the story. This disappointingly reductive technique results in unclear characterization; by the time additional and critical back story is provided, many readers will have given up. Given these flaws, it is doubtful that most kids will stay with the book long enough to become engaged with story or characters. (Adventure. 11-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-4503-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
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