Entertaining if rife with stereotype; Joseph Bruchac's Wolf Mark (2011) is both comparable and better
A spooky series second-parter takes a 17th-century 13-year-old English boy and his friends across the Atlantic to the magical New World.
Jem, an unacknowledged bastard son of Charles II with "gypsy looks," is overjoyed that he's soon to see his friends Tolly and Ann. The pair has been traveling with a troupe of players since the trio's joint escape from wicked Count Cazalon at the conclusion of The Jade Boy (2013). Their celebration goes horribly wrong when an evil force spirits away gentle, white 12-year-old Ann. Though the well-meaning adults all hope to rescue Ann, Tolly and Jem hare off on their own rescue mission—only to find themselves on a trans-Atlantic ship journey. Psychic Tolly, the African former slave, can magically tell that Ann is somewhere aboard, but where? Their quest is aided by the kindly ship captain and his crewman Mingan, a “noble savage” stereotype who's both bizarre and unpalatable. The Native American Mingan has no named tribe but merges characteristics of native nations from across North America with the usual fantasy native fare of werewolves and skinwalkers, along with the more inexplicable: constant reference to his waist-long hair threaded with "scores of tiny white skulls."
Entertaining if rife with stereotype; Joseph Bruchac's Wolf Mark (2011) is both comparable and better . (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78370-058-5
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Templar/Trafalgar
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Sixth grader Randy spots a dog tied to a tree in a sleet storm and resolves to help, but after visiting it, he realizes it's being seriously abused. Although he reports the cruelty to the police, he’s told that without proof of abuse, which he must collect, they cannot intervene. The appearance of a ghost dog determined to push Randy into saving the animal—and some encouragement from a friend—finally motivate him to rescue the dog by stealing it and hiding it away. Later, after being found out by his mother, she reluctantly becomes the dog’s official foster parent, even as they are being stalked by its violent owner. The ghost dog makes several appearances, each time presciently guiding Randy. A lecture he (bizarrely) receives in school on “evidence to look for if we think someone has a methamphetamine lab on their property,” plays a major role in the conclusion, one of several too-convenient aspects of the resolution. Readers eager for ghosts and suspense may enjoy this only-average, sometimes improbable effort. (pattern for animal-shelter cat blanket, Web resources on ghosts and animal cruelty) (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-42178-8
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2010
Echoes of Peter Pan notwithstanding, a less-than-seaworthy outing.
Endowed with the trappings of a comedic pirate yarn but not its heart, this series opener focuses more on one character’s soul-searching than nautical action.
Hardly has sheltered young “Old Worlder” Jem arrived on tropical islands believed to be haunted by the ghosts of exterminated natives than he is kidnapped by genteel pirates led by a grandiose pipsqueak. He is then rescued by the Lost Souls—an unwashed crew of orphans and runaways (all 13 or younger) sailing the supposed ghost ship Margaret’s Hop (the terminal “e” having been lost in the past) under the command of fiery but insecure Capt. Scarlet McCray. Guided by a map that belonged to his vanished uncle and pursued by the aforementioned pirates, Jem and the Lost Souls set out to find a fabled treasure. The search, however, proves little more than a vehicle for Scarlet’s continual second-guessing as she frets about being a proper, “captainly” leader and struggles to keep the Lost Souls entertained and a rebellious crew member in line. In the wake of numerous contrived obstacles overcome, the sudden re-emergence of Scarlet’s suppressed awareness that she’s half-Islander serves as a more sharply felt (if, at least for readers, not particularly cogent) climax than the discovery of the “treasure.” This turns out to be a glade so mystically peaceful that the fact that it’s surrounded by birds’ nests full of rubies comes across as just a nice added feature.
Echoes of Peter Pan notwithstanding, a less-than-seaworthy outing. (map, glossary) (Adventure. 10-12)Pub Date: July 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-448-45776-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
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