by Barbara A. Hanawalt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1998
A scholarly but involving history of the Middle Ages, roughly covering the 5th—15th centuries. Hanawalt aptly sets the stage with an introduction that outlines the importance of “emperors, kings, battles, crusades, feudalism, manorialism, the rise of towns, the growth of parliament, universities, and the Church,” as well as “how average people experienced life in the Middle Ages.” She discusses the three prominent cultures (Roman, Christian, German), the first autobiography ever written (Augustine’s Confessions), three empires (Carolingian, Byzantine, Arab), architecture, ideas, monastic orders, bubonic plague, Magna Carta, Abelard’s romance with Heloise, as well as various communities and their members. Richly illustrated with black-and-white medieval maps, drawings, illustrations, photographs, documents, and artifacts, this impressive history captures an era—its glory and its breadth. (chronology, glossary, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-19-510359-9
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1998
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by Chris Crowe ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2001
Historical fiction examines the famous case of Emmett Till, whose murder was one of the triggers of the civil-rights movement. Hiram Hillburn knows R.C. Rydell is evil. He watches R.C. mutilate a catfish, but does nothing to stop him. “I didn’t want to end up like that fish,” he says. He watches R.C. throw stones at a neighbor’s house and humiliate 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African-American visitor from Chicago, and still he does nothing. Hiram says, “When things are scary or dangerous, it’s hard to see clear what to do.” When Till is brutally murdered, Hiram is sure R.C. is involved. Hiram, a white teenager who has come back to the Mississippi town where his father grew up, is the narrator and the perspective of the white outsider and the layers of his moral reflection make this an excellent examination of a difficult topic. When the case comes to trial, Hiram knows he must face his own trial: can he stand up to evil and do the right thing? He knows Mr. Paul, the local storeowner, is right: “Figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, and make yourself do the right thing. Do that and no matter what happens, no matter what people say, you’ll have no regrets.” This is a complicated thing to do, as Hiram must summon inner strength and come to terms with who he is—the son of an English professor who hates everything about the South and the grandson of a farmer who loves everything about it. Teen readers will find themselves caught up in Hiram’s very real struggle to do the right thing. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-8037-2745-3
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
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by Chris Crowe & illustrated by Mike Benny
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by Chris Crowe
by Sam Quinones ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2019
A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic.
In this young adult adaptation of his adult title Dreamland (2015), seasoned journalist Quinones narrates a fast-paced exposé of the opiate epidemic.
The story begins and ends in Portsmouth, Ohio, a leader in both societal decline due to addiction and, years later, hope for recovering addicts. Quinones lays out the causes of the epidemic as if bringing together puzzle pieces. Purdue Pharma’s ad campaign targeting physicians downplayed the addictive nature of painkillers; physicians overprescribed them, most—but not all—with sincere intentions of helping their patients. A seemingly endless stream of Mexican drug dealers sought out the addict population as customers for their imported black tar heroin, which provided the same euphoria but with less cost and inconvenience. Presented as victims are the addicts—predominantly white families, at first poor and rural, later from privileged backgrounds. The efforts of law enforcement and public health officials to tackle the problem are detailed. Personal profiles crafted from interviews keep things interesting, and the technical descriptions of the various drug forms and the history of opiates are informative. Although the author describes the radical about-face by lawmakers who took a “tough on crime” approach to drugs when victims were predominantly black, readers may finish the book with the impression that Mexicans have wreaked havoc on innocent white lives.
A scrupulously researched, well-crafted tale that sheds light on a timely topic. (epilogue, photographs, reading guide, source notes) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: July 16, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0131-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: April 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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