After 13-year-old Irish seer Ailish O'Connor’s father brings home a thuggish drinking acquaintance, Rufus Dalton, the evil man beats her “da” senseless and steals their only thing of value, a gold statuette. Ailish follows Dalton and inadvertently stows away on the Great Eastern, the largest ship of its day, just as it heads out on its 1865 voyage to lay the first transatlantic telegraph cable. She overhears Dalton blackmailing an Irish crewmember, Paddy Whelan, with a newspaper photograph of him at a Fenian freedom fighters’ meeting. Ailish is befriended by a young riveter’s helper, Davy Jones. Frequent heavy-handed clues to his true nature abound, but Ailish, in spite of her second sight, is surprisingly oblivious, as she dresses as a boy, tries to hide her presence from the crew, searches for her stolen treasure and attempts to protect Paddy. While Ailish’s character is well-developed, the rest of the crew are stock characters; the good are very, very good, and the bad are terrifically evil. Details of the cable-laying effort provide a believable backdrop to Ailish’s adventure, even if the predictable plot and characters undermine the effort. While Davy adds a never-scary paranormal twist, Ailish’s multiple problems remain the primary focus of this only mildly exciting tale. (Paranormal historical fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55050-458-3
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Coteau Books
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
In a tribute to “the tractor-trailers of their time,” the author describes in loving detail the history and value of the uniquely designed Conestoga wagon. From 1750 to 1850, the Conestoga was king, and sometimes as many as 3,000 wagons a day traveled between Philadelphia and Lancaster as well as west to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. They carried as much as five tons of cargo: loads of bacon, butter, cider, flour, rope, tools, mail, coal, and more from port cities to settlements throughout Pennsylvania along what would become the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Ammon (An Amish Year, 1999, etc.) explains in detail how the wagon was built by hand, including shaping the wooden body, waterproofing the linen cover with linseed oil or beeswax, forging the iron rim to the wooden wheel of 14 or 16 spokes, attaching the end gate, and setting the hitch for easy hauling of heavy loads. Readers will learn how advanced this wagon was; for instance, it was the only one to have brakes. Several contemporary expressions derive from those wagon days: “Mind your P’s and Q’s,” “I’ll be there with bells on,” and “teamster.” While the text is rich in detail, the paintings by the illustrator of Robert Fulton: From Submarine to Steamboat (1999) provide a dreamy contrast. In muted sepia and gold, or muted blues and grays, they hint of times past, but occasionally miss some of the clear details the viewer longs for, given the superbly precise text. Still this is a strikingly well-done essay on a slice of Americana seldom told and well worth exploring. (Nonfiction. 9-11)
Pub Date: July 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-8234-1475-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Surprisingly (and disappointingly) dull.
Readers might be tempted to check the copyright date on this old-fashioned rags-to-riches tale that manages to turn a major historical disaster into just another incident in the narrator’s very full life.
The overall tone is decidedly nostalgic as Johnny Trott, a poor orphan who once worked as a bellboy at the swanky Savoy Hotel in London, tells his story. From the arrival (and untimely demise) of a talented Russian singer and her titular cat Kaspar through Johnny’s acquaintance with a mischievous young American girl, a stint as a stowaway on the Titanic, the well-known sinking of the great ship, life in the United States, the Great War and back (just for a visit) to the Savoy, Morpurgo crams in too much action with too little emotional depth. Stilted conversational styles reflect the formality of the day but serve to further distance readers. Kaspar, while realistically portrayed in his feline hauteur and self-absorption, has limited appeal and, like most of the other characters, seems to exist mainly to propel the plot. Foreman’s black-and-white illustrations have a pleasing variation of texture, the likely result of having been first rendered in watercolor. From small vignettes to larger scenes, they effectively capture the styles of the day and accurately reflect the action, but they can’t quite manage to enliven the text.
Surprisingly (and disappointingly) dull. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: March 13, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-200618-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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