A London teenager eagerly follows his father to a new life in Tanzania—and straight into disaster. When their light plane crashes in the Serengeti, only Chris is uninjured enough to go for help. Not only natural dangers stand between him and the nearest settlement; there's also a deadly pair of ivory poachers, who are surprised in action and vengefully chased by an American and a retired game warden who's there on a photographic safari; an aging lion, undertaking his last journey, also closely parallels Chris's course. All these players converge at the climax; meanwhile, the story's drama is heightened by some melodramatic prose (``His gorge still rose as his nostrils caught the heavy stench of animal breath, blood breath, blood stench, blanketing the air in this savage and terrible place'') and by a succession of vividly set scenes. The characters in this all-male adventure (well, there are some female lions) are painted in bold strokes—in the American's case, rather broadly: ``He asks me if I know how to shoot...I'm a New Yorker. In New York you're born knowing how to shoot....'' For fans of Paulsen and other no-frills adventure novelists. (Fiction. 11-15)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-15-262408-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A mischarted island becomes a refuge for injured sea creatures—including a few mythical ones—in this now-poignant, now-farcical adventure from the author of The Secret of Platform 13 (1998). After decades of tending to oil-covered sea birds, traumatized mermaids, the occasional stoorworm (a wingless dragon) or elephant-sized boobrie bird, the three unmarried Harper sisters feel old age creeping up: so off they hie to spirit away three children to train as successors. They return with 10-year-old Minette, who has spent much of her life unhappily shuttling between extremely divorced parents, Brazilian-born Fabio, who is being forced into the mold of a young British gentleman at dreary Greymarsh Towers boarding school, and Lambert Sprott, spoiled scion of predatory entrepreneur Stanley Sprott. Minette and Fabio quickly fall in love with the island and its inhabitants, particularly after the mountain-sized Kraken, the oceans’ mighty protector, wakes from a 100-year sleep and drops off his new son before beginning a world-spanning patrol. Lambert, however, a real chip off the old block, gives the game away as soon as he finds his cell phone. Enter Stanley, both to rescue his son and, dazzled by visions of a lucrative sideshow, to seize the island’s less common residents just before the police arrive. Ibbotson’s cast is made up largely of types and adult caricatures, but briskly stirring in oodles of complications, she brings the plot to a boil that climaxes with the enraged Kraken charging in to rescue his son on one side, and the Aunts caught in a sensational public trial for kidnapping on the other. The author dishes up a satisfying romp flavored with strong sympathy for those who care for the natural world rather than exploit it. Like her previous books, this will ride high on “Others Like Harry Potter” lists for its style of humor, sturdy young protagonists, and array of fantastical beings. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-525-46484-0
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2000
The fictionalized backbone of this engaging and informative first novel in the Adventures in Time series is the journey, 2,000 years ago, of a single bolt of blue silk from China to Rome. A likable set of characters appears on each leg of the silk's travels (illustrated in a series of handsome black-and- white maps)—from Changan to Merv, Merv to Palmyra, Palmyra to Petra, Petra to Alexandria, and finally on to Rome. Among the players is Han Tzu, the first to trade the silk, who sets out on his caravan as leader, leaving behind a bitter family. Young Pacorus, next to handle the bolt, takes his first steps toward becoming a trader at the age of 11. Fiesty Julia Sabina, a young Roman noblewoman, is the last to purchase the silk, which is to be made into her wedding dress. Schneider is adept at coloring ancient Rome and China with vivid descriptions; her attention to detail extends to authentic and pungent cuisines, to the evoking of a blistering sand storm, and to the use of technology appropriate to the era. Readers will share in the anticipation as 60 men, their camels, and 30 pack animals prepare to begin their trek. In short, this is history brought joyfully to life. (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 1997
ISBN: 0-87614-649-3
Page Count: 151
Publisher: Carolrhoda
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1997
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