Another entertaining action-adventure installment, albeit one with a few too many plot strands.
In O’Neill’s (Wrath of the Caid, 2014, etc.) third volume of his YA Red Hand Adventures series, the Moroccan resistance prepares to battle a power-hungry warlord who’s allied himself with the French army.
Tough orphan Tariq has already helped Australian adventurer and hot air balloonist Melbourne Jack obtain the secret diary of Alexander the Great. Now Jack wants to return the favor and help Tariq and his friends plan their final showdown with the evil Caid Ali Tamzali, a warlord who won’t stop until he’s become the sultan of Morocco. The Caid has made a deal with the French Foreign Legion in order to take advantage of its superior numbers and weaponry. Jack tells Tariq the legend of the Red Hand Scrolls—powerful revelations that have only been secretly shared with a few trusted scholars. Deep in the jungle of Ceylon, someone evil is using the scrolls to plant seeds of conflict, which will grow into the biggest battle that the world has ever seen. Meanwhile, English preteen Margaret has discovered that her father, Col. Charles Owen, is being held in Marseilles as an accused pirate, and back in London, her mother, Louise, is risking everything to clear his name. O’Neill takes his usual mixture of high-stakes action, intricate historical detail and complex character back story and cranks it up an extra notch. But although the previous two books merely verged on overwhelming, this one definitely feels bloated. By the time the book relates the life stories of the mysterious Foster Crowe, who runs the circus that raised Jack; and Inez, Margaret’s French schoolmate, readers may be tired of meeting new people and ready to get on with the story. The long-awaited showdown between the resistance and the Caid’s forces manages to live up to lofty expectations. However, instead of ending on that note, O’Neill begins new storylines related to pre–World War I unrest. This feels somewhat anticlimactic after the big battle, but it may lead to an exciting, educational next book in the series.
Another entertaining action-adventure installment, albeit one with a few too many plot strands.Pub Date: April 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0985196981
Page Count: 372
Publisher: Black Ship Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A white youth from Ohio, Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say), and a black youth from Georgia, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), meet as young soldiers with the Union army. Pink finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him. Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against "the sickness" that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Say is released months later, ill and undernourished, but Pink is never released, and Polacco reports that he was hanged that very first day because he was black. Polacco (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc; My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, above) tells this story, which was passed down for generations in her family (Say was her great-great-grandfather), carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself. The stunning illustrations — reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form — are completely heartbreaking. A spectacular achievement. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4- 8)
Pub Date: Sept. 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-399-22671-0
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994
Navigating this stunning novel requires thought and concentration, but it’s well worth the effort.
Returning to themes she explored so affectingly in Moon Over Manifest (2011), Newbery Medalist Vanderpool delivers another winning picaresque about memories, personal journeys, interconnectedness—and the power of stories.
Thirteen-year-old Jack enters boarding school in Maine after his mother’s death at the end of World War II. He quickly befriends Early Auden, a savant whose extraordinary facility with numbers allows him to “read” a story about “Pi” from the infinite series of digits that follow 3.14. Jack accompanies Early in one of the school crew team’s rowing boats on what Jack believes is his friend’s fruitless quest to find a great bear allegedly roaming the wilderness—and Early’s brother, a legendary figure reportedly killed in battle. En route, Early spins out Pi’s evolving saga, and the boys encounter memorable individuals and adventures that uncannily parallel those in the stories. Vanderpool ties all these details, characters, and Jack’s growing maturity and self-awareness together masterfully and poignantly, though humor and excitement leaven the weighty issues the author and Jack frequently pose. Some exploits may strain credulity; Jack’s self-awareness often seems beyond his years, and there are coincidences that may seem too convenient. It’s all of a piece with Vanderpool’s craftsmanship. Her tapestry is woven and finished off seamlessly. The ending is very moving, and there’s a lovely, last-page surprise that Jack doesn’t know but that readers will have been tipped off about.
Navigating this stunning novel requires thought and concentration, but it’s well worth the effort. (author’s note, with questions and answers, list of resources) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-385-74209-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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