Not villains but victims people this novel, originally published in Afrikaans and here in a second English translation. After his father's death in a farm accident, young Adam and of his family have been forced to move into a friend's already- crowded shack in Phameng. Their only source of income is Adam's job of selling newspapers; word has come that the houses of those caught leaving the townships to work in the city will be burned. Food runs low; Adam's mother gives birth to twins. Twins! How can they be clothed and fed? Desperate, Adam resolves to brave the terrorist threat for a weekend. Feverish after a night spent in the open, he receives some unexpected help selling his papers, then runs the gauntlet again to get home. Maartens takes readers into a world of grinding poverty charged with fear and anger, yet her touch is light. Violence stays offstage while Adam's heroism, the kindness of his two (white) fellow workers, and his affection for his family shine through, lit by a weak flicker of hope: ``Not everybody wants to burn and kill. There are lots of good people. Lots.'' (Fiction. 11-14)*justify no*
Pub Date: Sept. 23, 1991
ISBN: 0-395-56490-5
Page Count: 148
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
Well-educated American boys from privileged families have abundant options for college and career. For Chiko, their Burmese counterpart, there are no good choices. There is never enough to eat, and his family lives in constant fear of the military regime that has imprisoned Chiko’s physician father. Soon Chiko is commandeered by the army, trained to hunt down members of the Karenni ethnic minority. Tai, another “recruit,” uses his streetwise survival skills to help them both survive. Meanwhile, Tu Reh, a Karenni youth whose village was torched by the Burmese Army, has been chosen for his first military mission in his people’s resistance movement. How the boys meet and what comes of it is the crux of this multi-voiced novel. While Perkins doesn’t sugarcoat her subject—coming of age in a brutal, fascistic society—this is a gentle story with a lot of heart, suitable for younger readers than the subject matter might suggest. It answers the question, “What is it like to be a child soldier?” clearly, but with hope. (author’s note, historical note) (Fiction. 11-14)
Pub Date: July 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-58089-328-2
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2010
Paulsen recalls personal experiences that he incorporated into Hatchet (1987) and its three sequels, from savage attacks by moose and mosquitoes to watching helplessly as a heart-attack victim dies. As usual, his real adventures are every bit as vivid and hair-raising as those in his fiction, and he relates them with relish—discoursing on “The Fine Art of Wilderness Nutrition,” for instance: “Something that you would never consider eating, something completely repulsive and ugly and disgusting, something so gross it would make you vomit just looking at it, becomes absolutely delicious if you’re starving.” Specific examples follow, to prove that he knows whereof he writes. The author adds incidents from his Iditarod races, describes how he made, then learned to hunt with, bow and arrow, then closes with methods of cooking outdoors sans pots or pans. It’s a patchwork, but an entertaining one, and as likely to win him new fans as to answer questions from his old ones. (Autobiography. 10-13)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-385-32650-5
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
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