Racial and cultural stereotypes accompanied by an ill-constructed plot do a disservice to young readers unfamiliar with this...
It’s 1881, and Brody Martin and his adult Cherokee friend, Joseph, are on the run in Indian Territory.
Joseph’s son, Todd, is hidden away with Brody’s parents after an attack by a “madman” in the previous book of this trilogy, The Devil’s Trap (2011). Brody needs to go warn his best friend, Ames, an adult African-American man, that there are bounty hunters looking for the both of them due to an unfortunate run-in with the nefarious Miller family. Concerned for Brody’s safety, Joseph asks his elderly father, Wolf Jaw, to travel with Brody for protection. Wolf reluctantly agrees even though he doesn’t trust white people or speak English—in fact, he doesn’t show any emotion when Brody tries to communicate with him. Much action involving bounty hunters ensues. Babb takes late-1800s Arkansas and lays on it a tale featuring weak, stereotypical portrayals of African-Americans and Native Americans who play supporting roles for the white male protagonist. Instead of referring to these characters by name, they are often referred to as “the black man” or “the Indian.” Though all of these characters live within the same region, the African-American characters speak in dialect (“I knowed they was a bounty out”) while their fellow Arkansans do not. Wolf dons war paint and whoops for no apparent reason other than adding exotic flavor.
Racial and cultural stereotypes accompanied by an ill-constructed plot do a disservice to young readers unfamiliar with this time period. (Historical fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-945268-04-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Plum Street Publishers
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
Chilling, difficult, and definitely not for readers without a solid understanding of the Holocaust despite the relatively...
A young boy grows up in Adolf Hitler’s mountain home in Austria.
Seven-year-old Pierrot Fischer and his frail French mother live in Paris. His German father, a bitter ex-soldier, returned to Germany and died there. Pierrot’s best friend is Anshel Bronstein, a deaf Jewish boy. After his mother dies, he lives in an orphanage, until his aunt Beatrix sends for him to join her at the Berghof mountain retreat in Austria, where she is housekeeper for Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. It is here that he becomes ever more enthralled with Hitler and grows up, proudly wearing the uniform of the Hitler Youth, treating others with great disdain, basking in his self-importance, and then committing a terrible act of betrayal against his aunt. He witnesses vicious acts against Jews, and he hears firsthand of plans for extermination camps. Yet at war’s end he maintains that he was only a child and didn’t really understand. An epilogue has him returning to Paris, where he finds Anshel and begins a kind of catharsis. Boyne includes real Nazi leaders and historical details in his relentless depiction of Pierrot’s inevitable corruption and self-delusion. As with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006), readers both need to know what Pierrot disingenuously doesn’t and are expected to accept his extreme naiveté, his total lack of awareness and comprehension in spite of what is right in front of him.
Chilling, difficult, and definitely not for readers without a solid understanding of the Holocaust despite the relatively simple reading level. (Historical fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: June 7, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-62779-030-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is a funny book, chock full of action, slapstick, puns and eccentrics. Fans of the first two will eat it up.
This mystery/adventure, third in the series, begins in Vancouver, Canada, then takes a side trip to Paris, leaving a trail of amusement and mayhem.
On his 15th birthday, Neil Flambé is re-opening his restaurant, Chez Flambé, when a curse that has beset generations of Flambés sets in, initiating mayhem. This action-packed story includes poisoning, explosions, booby-trapped kitchen equipment and other unpleasant events aimed at ruining Neil’s reputation. Mysterious happenings include the appearance of an old family cookbook, a vanquished adversary demanding a second cooking duel and the discovery that a neighboring restaurant is occupied only by a motion sensor and hundreds of rats. Attempting to discover the origin of the sabotage and solve multiple mysteries, Neil is joined by his cousin, friends and well-meaning colleagues who are developed just enough to propel the story forward but whose names are often hilarious. Although this book can stand on its own, readers are advised to read the series in order.
This is a funny book, chock full of action, slapstick, puns and eccentrics. Fans of the first two will eat it up. (Mystery. 12-14)Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4286-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 27, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2012
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