Butler creates a likable heroine and fine, atmospheric prose to draw readers along, but it’s not enough to sustain the faulty plotting of this mystery. While on her paper route, Petra, 15, delivers a package to eccentric Edmund Century, who is about to turn 102. He forms a strange bond with Petra, and endows her with three odd gifts—the significance of which the reader never finds out—before he shortly thereafter dies. The secret of his attachment to her slowly and mysteriously unravels through a silhouette on her bedroom wall that Petra had nicknamed “the Darkling” when she was a child. This formerly harmless shadow takes on the spirit of Edmund Century and seeks out his long, lost love whose spirit resides in Petra. Add a spiritually possessed father, a sick brother, a disappearing housekeeper, and the father’s child-molesting boss, and the plot thickens—to an outright muddle. The mystery never comes together: Resolutions remain elusive, except for those explanations with a basis in some confusing real-estate dealings; the storyline of the dead characters is a wedged-in afterthought. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81796-7
Page Count: 164
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1998
BOOK REVIEW
A touching novel about the conflicts that arise in a "combined" family after a divorce, and a teen's growing realization and acceptance of her father's imperfections. Tess used to be a swimming champ, but she gave it up, because of reoccurring nightmares and because her politician father seemed to value her successes more than he valued her. Now married to his second wife, Kate, he is putting the same pressure on Tess's half- sister Laura, who competes on the trampoline. Tess lives with her mother on weekends, and with Kate and Laura the rest of the week; she'd rather spend more time with her mother but is torn between the two households. Unbeknownst to her family, Tess is involved in a "green" guerrilla group, staging protests for animal rights and environmental issues. When the group gets caught by the police, the dysfunction in her two families becomes more apparent. The warm characterizations save all the clichés surrounding broken families; this engrossing Australian tale has a refreshing view of children struggling with the fallout from divorce. Tess's growing awareness of her dad's imperfections and his realization of his own shortcomings make the ending not only happy, but believable. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-531-30115-X
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1998
An African-American boy grows into a decent man, a loving brother, and a steadfast son despite the cruelties of his childhood in this latest novel by Draper (Tears of a Tiger, 1994, not reviewed, etc.). Although three-year-old Gerald is burned in the fire caused by his drug-addicted mother Monique's recklessness, his life takes a turn for the better: The court sends him to live with his aunt, Queen. Wheelchair-bound and poor, Queen has a loving heart and boundless spirit that nourish and cultivate Gerald for six years, until his mother walks back into his life. When Queen abruptly dies, Gerald moves into Monique's home, where he becomes devoted to his younger half-sister, Angel, and suffers at the hands of his mother's new husband. Jordan is a bully, drunk, and child molester; while Angel and Gerald get him convicted (the police show up as Jordan is about to abuse Angel), he eventually returns to haunt the family after serving his jail term. While Draper's narrative is riveting, it is also rife with simplistic characterizations: Aunt Queen is all-good, Monique is all-stupid, and Jordan is all-evil. In addition, there are enough logical twists in the plot without the seemingly gratuitous death of Gerald's friend, Rob. A touching story, burdened by contrivances. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-689-80699-X
Page Count: 151
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996
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