Heartening and uplifting.
Extreme drought causes Billy’s family to lose their farm in Saskatchewan, so he takes to the rails looking for work.
Money and food are scarce, and his parents are moving into town; the stock market crash has destabilized everything. Thirteen-year-old Billy decides to go west across Canada in search of work. Lacking train fare, he jumps a boxcar. The action starts immediately and follows a push-pull rhythm. Some hobos teach Billy the ropes; another man attempts to molest him. Jumping trains is exciting but dangerous; he loses a friend. Kind strangers offer meals while a farmer cheats Billy out of hard-earned pay. Vivid, heartfelt descriptions illustrate how many among the mainly White cast are suffering (Billy crosses paths with a young Métis man, learning about his community’s struggles), yet Billy remains open to wonder and surprise as his father advised. Still, with each challenge, his hopes for the future wane, reaching a low when he enters one of Prime Minister Bennett’s degrading so-called relief camps. Billy throws his frustration and anger into a failed protest. Political reforms may be slow, but Billy has changed: He has discovered he loves the freedom of travel, but it’s balanced by loyalty to his family, especially when he learns they need his help at home. When Billy next leaves home, it’s to fight Hitler, but the best surprise is yet to come.
Heartening and uplifting. (author interview, citations, suggested reading list) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-88995-669-8
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Red Deer Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Navigating this stunning novel requires thought and concentration, but it’s well worth the effort.
Returning to themes she explored so affectingly in Moon Over Manifest (2011), Newbery Medalist Vanderpool delivers another winning picaresque about memories, personal journeys, interconnectedness—and the power of stories.
Thirteen-year-old Jack enters boarding school in Maine after his mother’s death at the end of World War II. He quickly befriends Early Auden, a savant whose extraordinary facility with numbers allows him to “read” a story about “Pi” from the infinite series of digits that follow 3.14. Jack accompanies Early in one of the school crew team’s rowing boats on what Jack believes is his friend’s fruitless quest to find a great bear allegedly roaming the wilderness—and Early’s brother, a legendary figure reportedly killed in battle. En route, Early spins out Pi’s evolving saga, and the boys encounter memorable individuals and adventures that uncannily parallel those in the stories. Vanderpool ties all these details, characters, and Jack’s growing maturity and self-awareness together masterfully and poignantly, though humor and excitement leaven the weighty issues the author and Jack frequently pose. Some exploits may strain credulity; Jack’s self-awareness often seems beyond his years, and there are coincidences that may seem too convenient. It’s all of a piece with Vanderpool’s craftsmanship. Her tapestry is woven and finished off seamlessly. The ending is very moving, and there’s a lovely, last-page surprise that Jack doesn’t know but that readers will have been tipped off about.
Navigating this stunning novel requires thought and concentration, but it’s well worth the effort. (author’s note, with questions and answers, list of resources) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-385-74209-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
An original, clever, page-turning adventure.
During the Blitz, 12-year-old Londoner Kat, along with two younger siblings and an American boy, is sent to a distant relative’s Scottish castle, where they confront evils both old and contemporary.
Though Lady Eleanor claims to be starting an academy in her castle and has hired faculty to attend to the curriculum, it’s soon clear that none are what they claim to be. The old castle keep is burned out, and the newer part seems to have weird twists and turns, secret doors and strange goings-on, including several ghostly children. Clues multiply early on that Eleanor is the same woman for whom the creepy, unnamed village magister has replaced living parts one by one over decades, each given in payment for a charm for a child’s soul. Kat’s father—now away working for MI6—is a watchmaker, and Kat has his gift for numbers, gears, and puzzles. Witchy magic, Nazi menace, and clockwork all come into play, along with an Enigma machine and spies for both the Allies and the Nazis seeking occult sources of power or protection. After the breathtaking climax, various threads of the story are tied up in a drawing-room denouement in which the characters decide to dispose of toxic magical artifacts rather carelessly—though in a way that invites anticipation (and fortuitously leaves room for sequels).
An original, clever, page-turning adventure. (Historical fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-451-47633-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
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