A Dickensian novel reveals the horrors of 19th-century life in England. Emmaline’s father reads Ivanhoe and Sense and Sensibility to her, but her mother is an illiterate with a tendency to drink, and if Emmaline’s aunt is to be believed, a woman of loose morals. Emmaline’s father dies of cholera and her mother is forced to work in a mill. Emmaline’s sewing skills allow her a relatively cushy job with her wealthy aunt. Life is bad, but at least they are together. But when mother’s hand is mangled in an accident at the mill, her addiction to opium-laced pain medication drives her to sell Emmaline’s brother, Tommy, into servitude as a chimney sweep. Desperate to get Tommy back, Emmaline ventures to London, finds work, wins the admiration of her elderly employer by reading Wordsworth aloud to him, locates Tommy, and gains financial independence when her employer bequeaths to her two valuable antiquarian books. Clichés abound, including the kind employer’s evil son who impregnates the scullery maid and then cold-heartedly abandons her to a nasty workhouse fate. Yet readers will be drawn in by Emmaline’s determined quest for her little brother and the budding romance between Emmaline and young Thomas, whose commitment to books makes him a good match for Emmaline. The deus ex machina conclusion is no more far-fetched than a typical Dickens dénouement. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2002
ISBN: 0-88776-592-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point.
After Hitler appoints Bruno’s father commandant of Auschwitz, Bruno (nine) is unhappy with his new surroundings compared to the luxury of his home in Berlin.
The literal-minded Bruno, with amazingly little political and social awareness, never gains comprehension of the prisoners (all in “striped pajamas”) or the malignant nature of the death camp. He overcomes loneliness and isolation only when he discovers another boy, Shmuel, on the other side of the camp’s fence. For months, the two meet, becoming secret best friends even though they can never play together. Although Bruno’s family corrects him, he childishly calls the camp “Out-With” and the Fuhrer “Fury.” As a literary device, it could be said to be credibly rooted in Bruno’s consistent, guileless characterization, though it’s difficult to believe in reality. The tragic story’s point of view is unique: the corrosive effect of brutality on Nazi family life as seen through the eyes of a naïf. Some will believe that the fable form, in which the illogical may serve the objective of moral instruction, succeeds in Boyne’s narrative; others will believe it was the wrong choice.
Certain to provoke controversy and difficult to see as a book for children, who could easily miss the painful point. (Fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-75106-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
When Clara Luna, 14, visits rural Mexico for the summer to visit the paternal grandparents she has never met, she cannot know her trip will involve an emotional and spiritual journey into her family’s past and a deep connection to a rich heritage of which she was barely aware. Long estranged from his parents, Clara’s father had entered the U.S. illegally years before, subsequently becoming a successful business owner who never spoke about what he left behind. Clara’s journey into her grandmother’s history (told in alternating chapters with Clara’s own first-person narrative) and her discovery that she, like her grandmother and ancestors, has a gift for healing, awakens her to the simple, mystical joys of a rural lifestyle she comes to love and wholly embrace. Painfully aware of not fitting into suburban teen life in her native Maryland, Clara awakens to feeling alive in Mexico and realizes a sweet first love with Pedro, a charming goat herder. Beautifully written, this is filled with evocative language that is rich in imagery and nuance and speaks to the connections that bind us all. Add a thrilling adventure and all the makings of an entrancing read are here. (glossaries) (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2006
ISBN: 0-385-73343-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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