by Joseph Bruchac ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 2015
Captivating and brief enough to be an easy sell for reluctant readers, this effort combines a snapshot of history with a...
Ely, a Seneca Indian, has been sent to a boarding school to learn the ways of white people in hopes that he can become an effective representative for his people.
It’s not an easy path to tread. He has to deal with ample prejudice in many forms: the less-troublesome lowered expectations of whites, the disdain and abuse of a group of unruly British soldiers, and rejection when he steps out of “his place” and shows interest in a white female classmate. Bruchac is especially effective when he depicts the period of time, around 1840, when Ely goes to live with an uncle who keeps his people’s old ways. The tale is related in simple, straightforward language that persuasively portrays the boy’s growing awareness of the complexity of his—and his people’s—position. A brief, informative afterward provides factual information about the real Ely Parker, who became an ambassador for the Senecas and helped prevent further loss of tribal land to greedy whites. Notably missing are suggested sources for further reading about the historical Parker; the depiction of his teen years is so intriguing that many readers will want to learn more.
Captivating and brief enough to be an easy sell for reluctant readers, this effort combines a snapshot of history with a skillful multicultural portrayal. (Historical fiction. 9-14)Pub Date: April 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-939053-10-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: 7th Generation
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
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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
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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
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