“John Kipling was just one small officer in the Great War,” the war to end all wars. He was 18 years old in his first and last battle. He was the only son of the world-famous author, Rudyard Kipling, who pulled strings to get John into the army. “Perfectly timed,” Rudyard thought of the war. “Here was John’s chance.” Moreover, Kipling’s wartime writing rallied the nation, his verses like oil on the fire. Second Lieutenant Kipling suffers horrific injuries as part of the Irish Guards in France, and Spillebeen’s grim narrative tells the alternating stories of John’s death throes and how he ended up a soldier in the first place. His death breaks his father, who’s horrified at what he has done. “How many boys have I written into the grave,” he wonders. This powerful anti-war novel, made even more powerful by its roots in a famous author’s real life and his evolution from war zealot to embittered, broken father, deserves a place beside All Quiet on the Western Front. (epilogue, bibliography) (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: May 30, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-43124-1
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
BOOK REVIEW
Reads like a playbill; save your attention for the musical.
A World War II–era girl escapes the harsh reality of the Blitzkrieg through stories from her childhood favorite, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
As Alice Spencer hides out from bombings on a London Underground platform, crammed into a too-small and squalid space and cared for by nurses and doctors who seem impersonal to the point of cruelty, all she can think about is her friend Alfred, quarantined in another part of the platform. A domineering Red Cross nurse keeps them apart, but Alice finds respite in retelling the Wonderland stories to herself and remembering the bucolic days when she and Alfred would act out scenes together. Wonderland and war blur together until Alice must decide which world is truly worth living in. Playwright and lyricist Sater (A Purple Summer, 2012, etc.) thoughtfully explores the parallels between Lewis Carroll’s topsy-turvy universe and the surreality of life in wartime; the novel is an adaptation of his existing off-Broadway musical of the same name, and it is easy for readers to imagine a lush theatrical rendition of the visuals and themes at hand. However, the novel reads like a consolation prize for those unable to attend the real show; the prose is long-winded, complacent, and solipsistic, and the story progresses at a deathly slow pace. All major characters are white.
Reads like a playbill; save your attention for the musical. (author’s note, musical credits, photo credits) (Fabulism. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-451-47813-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 6, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
One part Arthurian legend, one part teen dramedy, all parts enjoyable.
Meet Arthur and Merlin in a whole new light.
In this gleefully ahistorical take on Arthuriana, the original Merlin’s improbably identical brother-and-sister twins, Emmett and Emry, are also wizards. Emmett prefers gambling and seducing girls to learning, while Emry uses her more powerful magic to support a theater troupe (and also occasionally seduces girls as well as boys). When indolent, entitled Emmett is summoned to become the king’s court wizard but is laid up by a spell gone wrong, Emry dons his clothes, hoping to alleviate their financial woes by temporarily attending in his place—and the traditional canon goes out the window. Castle Camelot is in London. Arthur was raised there, but he prefers books to battle; he only pulled the sword from the stone as part of a drunken night out. Lancelot is a guard, demoted from page duties after being wrongfully accused of sexual misconduct with another boy. Guinevere isn’t interested in Arthur or Lancelot. Also, coffee exists; this world is reminiscent of the 17th century. The central love story is between Emry and Arthur, while around them various political machinations, plots, and spells set up later volumes. Witty banter, engaging characters, risqué references, plus zero devotion to the source material add up to a read perfect for fans of The Lady Janies series. Most characters default to White.
One part Arthurian legend, one part teen dramedy, all parts enjoyable. (Historical fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-35102-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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