An immersive and technically stunning companion to a Robert Louis Stevenson classic.
A debut YA historical novel spins a tale out of Treasure Island and reveals the horrors of the North Atlantic slave trade.
What happened when Jim Hawkins left the Admiral Benbow Inn for Treasure Island? Well, his mother needed to hire someone to replace him, of course. That replacement is Jonah, a twice-orphaned stable boy. Jonah is shrewd enough to realize that the local maritime economy is built, in no small part, on the slave trade: “I must say that most people ignored the vice of slavery, living as they did away from the city of Bristol; they benefitted from the extra trade it brought. But it was hard to ignore some of the tales of misery of enslaved human beings.” When Mrs. Hawkins is forced to shutter the Benbow, Jonah goes to Bristol to search for work. It isn’t long before he’s ensnared by a press gang and forced aboard the Black Prince on its way to the coast of Africa. Quite without meaning to, Jonah becomes a crew member on one of those slave ships he’s heard so many horror stories about. Jonah soon witnesses the practice firsthand and is disgusted by the brutality with which slaves are captured and treated. The Black Prince makes its way to the Indies for the purpose of selling its ill-gotten cargo, but the crew runs into that same problem that plagued Jim back home: pirates. Jonah finds himself a guest of Sir Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts of the Royal Fortune, where things are run a little differently than they are aboard the slave ship. Jonah befriends the vessel’s surgeon, Peter Scudamore, and finally has a pirate adventure of his own.
Gulick excels in replicating the language and rhythms of Robert Louis Stevenson’s source material, leading readers to believe they are truly enjoying a narrative penned in 1883 (or even the 1720s) that presents Jonah’s point of view: “Wet and stinking, red with embarrassment, I was surrounded by seasoned crewmen relishing the initiation of a raw boy who did not know the basic difference between an upwind that would throw something back to you and a downwind that would take it away.” The author works in the best tradition of parallel novels, exploring those areas of society that the original work skirted but that are of great interest to a modern readership. The slave trade sections are nightmarish and yet they fit somehow seamlessly with the rest of the book. In a sense, such horrors are more easily understood because the author portrays them in their historical and cultural context: Men who are willing to impress teenagers and resort to piracy are, unsurprisingly, quite believable slavers. The story does not scratch quite the same adventuresome itch as Stevenson’s tale, but as a travelogue of the time period, it is thoroughly satisfying. Gulick’s work is a reconstruction not only of a vanished age, but also of a vanished perspective that manages to feel, remarkably, like something new.
An immersive and technically stunning companion to a Robert Louis Stevenson classic.Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68433-394-3
Page Count: 265
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: July 23, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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