A brutal, ambitious and well-researched historical novel.
Mann’s debut historical novel follows abolitionist John Brown and a pro-slavery advocate, who are on a collision course with history.
In 1856, the issue of slavery painfully splits America. In the Kansas Territory, John Brown considers it God’s plan for him to murder pro-slavery settlers; in Washington, D.C., a Southern representative severely beats U.S. Senator Charles Sumner after an anti-slavery speech; and the fictional Zephaniah Jacobs realizes that, in order to save slavery, he must kill Brown. Zephaniah’s holy quest takes on biblical proportions or, at least, allusions; at one point, his family re-enacts the Old Testament story of the kidnapping of Dinah—except that here, Pawnee tribesmen abduct Zephaniah’s daughter Diana and later convert to Christianity. Some of these biblical parallels might have seemed forced in other historical novels, but here, they fit due to the narrative’s interest in faith and God; both Zephaniah and Brown, for example, see themselves as violently enacting God’s will. The book doesn’t shrink from violence, showing everything from the massacres of Bleeding Kansas to the horrors of slavery to the slaughter of livestock (in which “yards of intestine ooze out”). These elements give the book an almost mythological tone that suits the characters, although this mythic scope may prevent many readers from identifying with or caring too deeply about them. The book sometimes gives in to the temptation to include famous cameos (Abraham Lincoln, Jesse James, John Wilkes Booth). Curiously, the Zephaniah sections are largely narrated by a skeptical character who largely remains a cipher. However, this narrator is only disruptive when he comments on the future or puts history into context; his theory that the Civil War can be laid on John Brown, for example, seems a little narrow. That said, these are only occasional missteps. Mann also includes some stories that initially seem like tangents but that all eventually connect to the main plot; the story of the slave Shields Green, for instance, makes sense when we see him later during the famed Harpers Ferry raid.
A brutal, ambitious and well-researched historical novel.Pub Date: March 4, 2014
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 287
Publisher: Rose & Mann, LLC
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2014
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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