by John Wilson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 2011
A tale of the Old West with a sturdy historical base and nary a dull moment.
A young wanderer lands in the middle of New Mexico’s Lincoln County War in this middle volume of the oater Desert Legends Trilogy.
Relatively fresh from meeting Cochise in the previous episode (Written In Blood, 2010), 16-year-old James Doolen falls in with Bill Bonney (not yet known as “Billy the Kid”)—a charming but decidedly mercurial teenager who hares off on a vicious killing spree after their new boss, John Tunstall, is murdered by a rival merchant’s gang of hired gunmen. Along with having his narrator witness several documented gunfights, Wilson fills in the cast with historical figures and the general background with barely disguised infodumps. In his simply phrased, present-tense account, James goes from a brash “I want to learn about the world and have adventures” to a disgust with the escalating violence that, after several narrow squeaks, leads him on to a new job (and the next volume) scouting for a troop of buffalo soldiers. The tale’s women are, with a single late exception, silent bystanders, but action fans will thrill to the gunplay and other dangers. James’ conflicting feelings about his archetypically dangerous friend—and also a telling conversation with an old Mexican survivor of the Alamo about the difference between legend and reality—introduce thought provoking elements.
A tale of the Old West with a sturdy historical base and nary a dull moment. (Historical fiction. 11-14)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55469-879-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More In The Series
More by John Wilson
BOOK REVIEW
by John Wilson
BOOK REVIEW
by John Wilson
BOOK REVIEW
by John Wilson ; illustrated by R.H. Rabjohn
by Mitali Perkins ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2010
Well-educated American boys from privileged families have abundant options for college and career. For Chiko, their Burmese counterpart, there are no good choices. There is never enough to eat, and his family lives in constant fear of the military regime that has imprisoned Chiko’s physician father. Soon Chiko is commandeered by the army, trained to hunt down members of the Karenni ethnic minority. Tai, another “recruit,” uses his streetwise survival skills to help them both survive. Meanwhile, Tu Reh, a Karenni youth whose village was torched by the Burmese Army, has been chosen for his first military mission in his people’s resistance movement. How the boys meet and what comes of it is the crux of this multi-voiced novel. While Perkins doesn’t sugarcoat her subject—coming of age in a brutal, fascistic society—this is a gentle story with a lot of heart, suitable for younger readers than the subject matter might suggest. It answers the question, “What is it like to be a child soldier?” clearly, but with hope. (author’s note, historical note) (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-58089-328-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
Share your opinion of this book
More by Mitali Perkins
BOOK REVIEW
by Mitali Perkins ; illustrated by Khoa Le
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Mitali Perkins ; illustrated by Kevin Howdeshell & Kristen Howdeshell
by Jack Gantos ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2011
Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones. (Autobiographical fiction. 11-13)
An exhilarating summer marked by death, gore and fire sparks deep thoughts in a small-town lad not uncoincidentally named “Jack Gantos.”
The gore is all Jack’s, which to his continuing embarrassment “would spray out of my nose holes like dragon flames” whenever anything exciting or upsetting happens. And that would be on every other page, seemingly, as even though Jack’s feuding parents unite to ground him for the summer after several mishaps, he does get out. He mixes with the undertaker’s daughter, a band of Hell’s Angels out to exact fiery revenge for a member flattened in town by a truck and, especially, with arthritic neighbor Miss Volker, for whom he furnishes the “hired hands” that transcribe what becomes a series of impassioned obituaries for the local paper as elderly town residents suddenly begin passing on in rapid succession. Eventually the unusual body count draws the—justified, as it turns out—attention of the police. Ultimately, the obits and the many Landmark Books that Jack reads (this is 1962) in his hours of confinement all combine in his head to broaden his perspective about both history in general and the slow decline his own town is experiencing.
Characteristically provocative gothic comedy, with sublime undertones. (Autobiographical fiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-37993-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2011
Share your opinion of this book
More by Jack Gantos
BOOK REVIEW
by Jack Gantos ; illustrated by Jack Gantos
BOOK REVIEW
by Jack Gantos
BOOK REVIEW
by Jack Gantos
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.