A rousing good story and two strong female protagonists make this novel of the Underground Railroad an energetic work of historical fiction. Juxtaposed with the story of Afrika, a slave escaping to Canada via the hidden network, is the story of Lucy, seeking freedom from the tyranny of her privileged but stifling upbringing in 19th-century Boston society. As Afrika gains ground through a series of suspenseful incidents and near misses, Lucy discovers her abolitionist grandfather's secret and finds herself coming to terms with her own feelings about slavery. Alternating chapters of the girls' separate stories skillfully intersect when Afrika appears in the study of Lucy's grandfather, hidden inside a clock, paving the way for a dramatic and satisfying ending. The two adolescent girls, so full of passion and will, so full of fire, give this volume its verve. Lucy and Afrika are vivacious fictional heroines striving against a backdrop of actual events and real players; they reveal underlying truths in the sad histories of many a slave. (further reading) (Fiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-590-20523-4
Page Count: 266
Publisher: Blue Sky/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1996
A brilliant novel with characters that linger long after the screams fade.
A brooding manor house hides more than family secrets in Cañas’ YA debut.
Minerva Treviño is accustomed to hardship—after all, she’s grown up in an impoverished part of the Capital with many siblings, a resentful stepmother, and an abusive father who mines chispa, the mysterious sparks of energy that power the city. A chance to escape appears when Minerva answers an ad for a lady’s maid. Soon, she becomes the sole companion to Encarnación del Valle, an aging socialite with connections to the recently deposed Viceroy’s family. Political unrest has consumed the unnamed Latin American country ever since Valbuenista guerrillas seized power, only for the newly installed president to be assassinated in a coup. Hoping to flee the chaos of the Capital, Minerva and her employer retreat to the family’s remote manor, la Casa de las Gardenias, that lies deep within the mountainous jungle. The looming house fills Minerva with unease. Strange occurrences, hostile servants, and sinister residents convince her that something far darker lurks within its walls. The atmospheric worldbuilding and steadily mounting tension create a delicious genre-blended mix of gothic horror, historical fantasy, and anti-colonial fiction. The complex characters and a propulsive plot will keep readers riveted through the feverish climax. Minerva, who is “mixed-blood” with Indigenous ancestry, is a compelling and relatable teen hero who struggles with self-confidence.
A brilliant novel with characters that linger long after the screams fade. (Paranormal. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780593620410
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
A delightfully captivating swatch of autobiography from the author of Kiss. Kiss, Switch Bitch and many others. Schoolboy Dahl wanted adventure. Classes bored him, there was work to be had in Africa, and war clouds loomed on the world's horizons. He finds himself with a trainee's job with Shell Oil of East Africa and winds up in what is now Tanzania. Then war comes in 1939 and Dahl's adventures truly begin. At the war's outbreak, Dahl volunteers for the RAF, signing on to be a fighter pilot. Wounded in the Libyan desert, he spends six months recuperating in a military hospital, then rejoins his unit in Greece, only to be driven back by the advancing Germans. On April 20, 1941, he goes head on against the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Athens. On-target bio installment with, one hopes, lots more of this engrossing life to come.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0142413836
Page Count: 209
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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