A somewhat soapy but vigorous and engrossing view of a historical hero.
A legendary medieval warrior king fights, jousts, plots, wallows in kinky sex and has his heart broken in this entertaining book.
Debut author Manson insists that he’s edited and translated (from the Latin) these long-lost 12th-century diaries of Richard, King of England, Duke of Normandy, as dictated to Richard’s amanuensis, the monk Armande. If true, they will greatly revise humanity’s understanding of medieval intellectual history: Richard, for example, talks about being “paranoid”; divines the germ theory of disease—ascribing “influenza” to a “bug”—without benefit of microscopes; and uses the phrase “some ten minutes later” centuries before clocks with minute hands had been invented. Historians will also thank the good monk for having improbably recorded Richard’s many bedroom conquests in such lascivious detail (“She took her hand away, brought it to her mouth and licked all the way round the forefinger and middle finger before resuming the rubbing”). That said, these episodic diaries mainly tell a well-attested, engaging story of family dysfunction on an epic scale. Richard’s tyrannical father, Henry II, faces multiple revolts from his redoubtable wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and three headstrong sons, resulting in a decadeslong maelstrom of Oedipal tensions and sibling rivalry, acted out on the battlefield. Later, the story follows Richard’s crusade to the Holy Land, where the Saracens are a minor nuisance compared to his ally, King Phillip of France—the very embodiment of arrogance, treachery and cowardice. Along the way, Richard turns from a hard-bitten rake to a sappy swain over Princess Berengaria of Navarre, the last virgin in Christendom; their blissful marriage is replete with pagan couplings before it’s darkened by ghastly villainy. Manson’s depiction of this melodrama expertly conveys the mix of haughty manners, gross squalor, brute force and subtle scheming that modern readers love about the Middle Ages. Apart from the dialogue and the sex, the period details, particularly of warfare and court life, are rich and well-observed. Richard’s voice may sometimes sound anachronistic, but he relates his saga in energetic prose in a book with brisk pacing, vivid characters and nuanced psychology.
A somewhat soapy but vigorous and engrossing view of a historical hero.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 109
Publisher: Spiffing Covers
Review Posted Online: Dec. 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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