An entertaining, well-researched aviation tale that allows its hero to soar.
A talented young pilot and her homing pigeon join the war effort in this debut YA historical novel set in the 1940s.
The first time Frances Finkel flew a plane, “she knew it was where she belonged.” At the age of 17 in November 1941, she’s already logged 2,500 flight hours and is a skilled mechanic in her father’s maintenance shop at Seal Rock Airport in Oregon. After Fran’s twin brother, Danny, died and her mother left, Joel Finkel has kept a close eye on his daughter and her younger brother, Seamus. But Fran is restless, longing to make her mark as an aviator and join the community of female pilots. Women aren’t allowed to serve in the Army Air Force, but Fran—who believes in following the “laws of attraction” and manifesting your desires—doesn’t give up hope. After turning 18 in September 1942, Fran jumps at the chance to participate in a secret military project recruiting women to ferry planes from factories to air bases. She’s aided by her passenger pigeon, Easter, who can send messages for her. Fran amply proves her worth and embraces the female pilot community while also discovering more about her mother, facing loss, and finding romance. In her book, Mahoney throws light on the neglected contributions of female pilots in World War II. She conveys not just the importance of the work, but also its dangers and, often, its tremendous fun—as when an assignment in Hollywood leads to Fran’s dancing with movie star Gregory Peck. Fran’s character development nicely tracks with her growing responsibilities. Although the Law of Attraction philosophy might seem contemporary, it has roots in the 19th century, so the author’s historicity is sound.
An entertaining, well-researched aviation tale that allows its hero to soar.Pub Date: April 17, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 157
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers...
A harrowing tale of survival in the Killing Fields.
The childhood of Arn Chorn-Pond has been captured for young readers before, in Michelle Lord and Shino Arihara's picture book, A Song for Cambodia (2008). McCormick, known for issue-oriented realism, offers a fictionalized retelling of Chorn-Pond's youth for older readers. McCormick's version begins when the Khmer Rouge marches into 11-year-old Arn's Cambodian neighborhood and forces everyone into the country. Arn doesn't understand what the Khmer Rouge stands for; he only knows that over the next several years he and the other children shrink away on a handful of rice a day, while the corpses of adults pile ever higher in the mango grove. Arn does what he must to survive—and, wherever possible, to protect a small pocket of children and adults around him. Arn's chilling history pulls no punches, trusting its readers to cope with the reality of children forced to participate in murder, torture, sexual exploitation and genocide. This gut-wrenching tale is marred only by the author's choice to use broken English for both dialogue and description. Chorn-Pond, in real life, has spoken eloquently (and fluently) on the influence he's gained by learning English; this prose diminishes both his struggle and his story.
Though it lacks references or suggestions for further reading, Arn's agonizing story is compelling enough that many readers will seek out the history themselves. (preface, author's note) (Historical fiction. 12-15)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-173093-1
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage.
Adrian, the youngest of the Montague siblings, sails into tumultuous waters in search of answers about himself, the sudden death of his mother, and her mysterious, cracked spyglass.
On the summer solstice less than a year ago, Caroline Montague fell off a cliff in Aberdeen into the sea. When the Scottish hostel where she was staying sends a box of her left-behind belongings to London, Adrian—an anxious, White nobleman on the cusp of joining Parliament—discovers one of his mother’s most treasured possessions, an antique spyglass. She acquired it when she was the sole survivor of a shipwreck many years earlier. His mother always carried that spyglass with her, but on the day of her death, she had left it behind in her room. Although he never knew its full significance, Adrian is haunted by new questions and is certain the spyglass will lead him to the truth. Once again, Lee crafts an absorbing adventure with dangerous stakes, dynamic character growth, sharp social and political commentary, and a storm of emotion. Inseparable from his external search for answers about his mother, Adrian seeks a solution for himself, an end to his struggle with mental illness—a journey handled with hopeful, gentle honesty that validates the experiences of both good and bad days. Characters from the first two books play significant secondary roles, and the resolution ties up their loose ends. Humorous antics provide a well-measured balance with the heavier themes.
An enticing, turbulent, and satisfying final voyage. (Historical fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-291601-3
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2021
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