What was Wendy Darling’s life like before the coming of Peter Pan? In this twisted but ultimately comforting retelling, the Darling children live in a horrific web of Victorian hypocrisy. Mother is distracted, Nanny is a child-hating sadist, and Father is a drunken social climber who is carrying on an affair with vicious Lady Cunningham. Wendy tries—with varying success—to protect her brothers from the harshest realities of their lives. Her only comfort is the family’s annual visit to her uncle’s home, where she can see her dear friend Thomas. Thomas is a childlike carpenter’s son, a mentally disabled artist who is the focus of Wendy’s affection and mothering. When Wendy, already disillusioned with her philandering father, witnesses Thomas in her mother’s arms, she’s overwhelmed with bitterness. The poignancy of Wendy’s coming-of-age is somewhat marred by too many narrative viewpoints. This tale’s not stellar as a stand-alone, but deftly exposes the incestuous darkness that underlies Barrie’s original. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-86769-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
More than a decade after the publication of the first books in this trilogy (Which Way Freedom, 1986; Out From This Place 1988), Hansen completes her story of Obi and Easter, two escaped slaves from South Carolina, who become separated during the Civil War. After leaving the army, Obi searches for Easter, learning that she has moved to Philadelphia to become a teacher, but intends to establish her home in the black settlement of New Canaan. While awaiting her return, Obi struggles to care for Grace, Scipio, and Araba, three orphans who fled a massacre in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, a black town destroyed by whites. Much of the story is told in letters between Obi and Easter, as Obi fights storms, disease, and bigotry while he builds a carpentry business. His love for Easter and her determination to help build New Canaan finally leads Obi to find his place in life. While the earlier novels set forth the romance more clearly, this one is just as strong in its enlivening depiction of African-American history. Hansen deftly weaves real historical events into the novel, presenting a vivid account of a budding black settlement during Reconstruction. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8027-8636-7
Page Count: 174
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
Disaster tourism masquerading as romance. Three years after the disappearance of her mother’s plane over the Indian Ocean, California girl Sienna is still barely functional. She’s curtailed surfing, friendships and travel. Sienna’s psychiatrist father is off to Indonesia to do relief work with tsunami orphans, and he’s dragging Sienna along. He claims he needs her help, but he clearly believes in philanthropy as therapy. Once in Indonesia, Sienna is assaulted by difference: Islam, Indonesian culture, race and poverty merge in her perceptions into a sometimes-disgusting mess of exoticism. The exotic becomes appealing when she meets Deni, the super-cute orphanage bad boy. Deni calls her rambat kuning, “yellow hair,” and sneaks her out of the orphanage for forbidden tours of town. If only she can help Deni—and squeeze in a few secret alleyway makeout sessions—Sienna will be happy. Convenient resolution brings healing to Sienna and family to Deni, returning each to his and her God-given lot in life. Well-meaning, but ultimately about slumming in disaster zones for a summer’s recuperative fun. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: June 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-25163-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2010
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