Hang on for the wild ride of Cat Royal’s second adventure, after The Diamond of Drury Lane (2008). The redheaded firebrand sees her friend Pedro scale the heights as Ariel in Mr. Sheridan’s production of The Tempest, only to find that his evil former master insists Pedro is still his slave. In trying to protect Pedro, Cat finds she must leave Drury Lane and hide herself—at her friend Lord Francis’s school. The somewhat-stale trope of a girl in boys’ clothing gets a few charming grace notes as Cat survives a beating and finds out how much easier (and harder) boys have it. The eerily scary Billy Boil continues to slither in and out of Cat’s life, and she makes him a promise she will no doubt regret keeping. As the story rockets along, Cat makes both new enemies and new and stalwart friends. Some historical figures drift through these pages, the pace is quick and engaging and the colorful evocation of 1790s London will keep readers plunging on and awaiting the next installment. (glossary) (Historical fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59643-352-6
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2008
Through the diary of young Jim Hay, Wilson offers a soldier’s eye view of the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the events leading to it. Jim’s 16th Highland Light Infantry battalion lost 511 of its 750 men, one theater in a war of horrendous carnage—one million casualties by battle’s end—and ten million lives lost in the war overall. As in many war stories, Jim goes off to battle with great optimism, expecting early victory and a quick return to his girlfriend, Anne Cunningham. By mid-story, Jim says, “Still the war goes on,” and later: “Oh, Anne! I long to be somewhere clean, where the air is fresh and horror is only a thing of storybooks.” The diary includes letters, snippets from newspapers, and lines of poetry. The format has possibility but lacks imagination: the newspaper clippings don’t look or feel real, and the storytelling voice is flat, nothing that grabs emotions and involves the reader in the story. Burning lice over candles, descriptions of weather, mentioning books being read, the death of a father and mother, the shooting of a deserter, bloodshed on the battlefield—all are blandly related, with little power or weight. What will hold attention, though, is the hint of a family secret: “Every family has secrets. Ours is no different. One secret concerns the lad who wrote this diary.” Readers who persevere will be rewarded with a satisfactory conclusion in which the diarist’s fate and the family secret are revealed. May be of interest to readers of war novels or anyone wanting to learn more about WWI. (historical note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: March 1, 2003
ISBN: 1-55337-400-2
Page Count: 200
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2003
It’s the summer of a.d. 79. Flavia, her friend Jonathan, the young mute Lupus, and the slave Nubia have lived through the eruption of Vesuvius. A camp has been set up for those who fled Pompeii. Children are disappearing, however, and rumors of slavers terrify an already scarred people. The four young heroes are sent to a lovely villa, home of the charismatic Publius Pollius Felix, ostensibly out of harm’s way. Felix is called The Patron and at first they think he may be responsible for the missing children. His own daughter is spoiled and selfish, and a catfight between her and Flavia is the proximate cause of pirates’ grabbing all of them, except Lupus. With Lupus’s wily assistance, they instigate most of their own rescue, and Flavia formally frees Nubia. What made the two earlier titles so good was their fast pace and Roman setting: this one is marred by events and mindsets that sound a bit too contemporary; still, readers will want to continue the story. (glossary, author’s note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)
Pub Date: May 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-7613-1584-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
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