by Danette Haworth ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2011
In all, it's an entertaining boy-and-dog adventure set against a not-often-depicted era of political strife that’s notably...
Joshua, 11 or 12, knows all the hidden rules for making new friends, because his father is a frequently transferred Air Force recruiter.
When they arrive in rural Pennsylvania in the midst of the Vietnam War—a hard time to be a recruiter—he’s delighted when his father gets him a large (and rather unruly) dog from the pound. Jack turns out to be a Pharaoh hound, a rare breed of hunting dog. When trashcans are overturned, then a cat is killed and a horse attacked, neighbors believe Jack must be responsible, creating a witch-hunt atmosphere and doing nothing to improve Joshua’s friend-making prospects. Ray, a boy of his age, seems like a good friend-candidate, but he’s usually paired up with angry, spoiled, rich boy Prater, who plays with guns and seems to hate the newcomer from the start. Almost as bad, Joshua’s father, conscious of his own unpopular place in the community, sides more with the neighbors than with his son, leaving the boy on his own in his efforts to prove the dog’s innocence. While other characters are predictable and lightly sketched, Joshua is vividly depicted through his first-person narration and amusing interior monologues, and the conflicts he deals with are effectively realized.
In all, it's an entertaining boy-and-dog adventure set against a not-often-depicted era of political strife that’s notably similar to the present. (Historical fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: June 21, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-8027-9453-6
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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by Johnny O’Brien ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2010
Jack Christie and his hulking sidekick, Angus (introduced in Day of the Assassins, 2009), take another trip into the past as agents of VIGIL, this time to scotch a scheme by the megalomaniac Pendleshape and his Revisionists to support the Spanish Armada with modern weaponry. Gore-splashed—Jack and Angus arrive just in time to witness the graphically described beheading of Mary, Queen of Scots—and fast-paced, the jaunt features plenty of chases and escapes, as well as encounters with the likes of Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, not to mention extended scenes of actors in drunken revelry for comic relief and a violent climactic sea battle aboard Sir Francis Drake’s flagship. As before, O’Brien seems to see no conflict between VIGIL’s determination to prevent the past from being changed and its agents’ willingness to use 21st-century technology openly—and even leave it behind. Still, noncritical readers will enjoy the nonstop action, as well as the glimpses of historical figures. The author includes afternotes on the latter. (Time-travel fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5075-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
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by Johnny O’Brien & illustrated by Nick Hardcastle
by Adeline Yen Mah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 2010
The success of Mah’s memoirs (Falling Leaves, 1997, for adults and Chinese Cinderella, 1999, for kids) led to her well-received novel Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society (2005) and historical overview China: Land of Dragons and Emperors (2008). Here, she tries to combine them all, blithely and unwisely stepping beyond her literary capabilities. Readers initially meet CC (the character from the previous novel) on what seems to be a mission in World War II China. Chased, she falls and enters a coma. A doctor hypnotizes her, and readers shift to the Song dynasty and CC’s previous life in a star-crossed romance, observing the scene in the famous painting Along the River at the Qing Ming Festival. Both setting and emotional tension rely heavily on cliché and exclamation points. The author abuses dialogue to cram in historical details (a visitor exclaiming “Good tea!” is treated to an encyclopedic definiton of white tea). It is unclear what story she is trying to tell: the romance? the story of the painting? the bookend of CC’s coma, which will be inexplicable to readers unfamiliar with the previous novel? As none succeed, the question may go unanswered. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-385-73895-8
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
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