Bosse (Deep Dream of the Rain Forest, 1993, etc.) continues his series of vivid works of historical fiction in this story of two brothers traveling across Ming Dynasty China to pursue their destinies. Lao Chen is a young Confucian scholar headed for the ultimate glory of the palace examination and top-level civil service; Lao Hong, loyal and worldly younger brother, is determined to escort Chen to Beijing and the highest honors. Through his cunning, Hong acquires enough money to get the two brothers to Chengdu for the provincial examination, which Chen passes easily. From there they must travel the long and treacherous road to Beijing—over the Yellow River, through drought- plagued provinces—for the next stage of the test. In addition, each brother is carrying a secret missive—Chen's from his teacher for an ostracized inventor, and Hong's from one member of the subversive White Lotus society to another. The brothers are separated when their junk is captured by pirates, who discover Hong's letter and torture him to discover its meaning, but Hong escapes, finds Chen, and the brothers continue on their way. When Chen passes the municipal and then the palace examination, his future is secure, and Hong is finally free to seek his own fortune through a career in the military. Bosse renders a graphic picture of 16th-century China- -its violence, ceremony, scholarship, and strict class order—in this stimulating and timeless story. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-374-32234-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The early-1960s setting of a racially divided Florida town has Dove Alderman, 15, morally caught between the Mexican-migrant and African-American orange pickers working her father’s grove and her fellow white citizens. Dove’s childhood play, amid the orange trees, fostered life-long relationships with Gator, an African-American child, and Chase Tully, son of the neighboring grove owner. Raised by African-American housekeeper Delia, Dove lives her life with a sense of justice and honor. Unable to accept the accident story behind the death of Delia’s husband, she struggles to have the secret truth revealed. Gus died in a purposeful hit-and-run episode, the responsibility of her father’s white crew boss. Normal adolescent interests in school politics and dating are entwined but skillfully overshadowed by the issues of racial prejudice, class status, frighteningly dangerous KKK behavior, organized migrant protesting, and choices Dove, Chase, and their respective fathers make. McDonald uses realistic dialogue for the time period, including the word “nigger,” to deftly portray her well-developed characters in scenes that are equally vivid and sometimes violently graphic. Gripping historical storytelling. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 11, 2004
ISBN: 0-385-73107-8
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2004
In 29 taut, free-verse poems, Janeczko describes the Barnum & Bailey Circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1944, this catastrophe killed 167 people and injured over 500 others. Three parts anticipate the performance, describe the fire, and recount its aftermath. Each poem features a different person and provides a specific point of view of the calamity. This device has its strengths (creation of plot tension, accurate depiction of WWII Hartford, and the texture of daily life) and weaknesses (lack of cohesiveness and character detail). Each voice is distinct: in toto, they convey the horror of the event, while moving the reader’s attention forward. As in several YA novels published recently, adult voices predominate. This will not discourage YA readers and it increases the amount of factual information in the poems. Just as Edgar Lee Masters’s Spoon River Anthology described a midwestern town through the voices of its dead, this work creates an overview of a community in tragedy rather than a fictional whole. A rich, challenging poetry experience. (Poetry. YA)
Pub Date: March 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-7636-2235-4
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
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