Heartfelt, witty, and wonderfully original.
An accident brings a 10-year-old boy face to face with the infamous Loch Ness monster and lands him in the middle of a mystical battle for Scotland in this middle-grade novel from Cooper (Jason Steed: Royal Decree, 2014, etc.).
Archie Wilson’s world is in ruins. After his beloved mother is killed in a car crash, the London boy is sent to dreary Foyers, Scotland, to live with his father—a man he’s never met and knows nothing about. Yet despite the pain and sadness he feels, he senses something calling to him from the murky depths of nearby Loch Ness. While peering into the gigantic lake one afternoon, he loses his footing and tumbles into the ice-cold water. He tries to swim to the surface only to find something has “clasped his ankle tight,” pulling him deeper in the darkness. When the boy awakens later in an underwater cavern, he receives the shock of a lifetime: the Loch Ness monster is real. But rather than being a threat to humans, the gentle-hearted sea dragon (who goes by the name of Gordon) is an ally who’s protected mankind for centuries. Later, when an evil creature threatens to rear its ugly head, Gordon must decide whether to risk his freedom to save the human race again—or it may be up to Archie to tackle the dreaded Nuckelavee. This fast-paced, multilayered adventure story is ideal for young readers to curl up with under the covers. Action abounds, but Cooper also invests heavily in the emotional life of his protagonist. As a result, the day-to-day trials that Archie faces at home and in school are just as engrossing as his battles with mythical creatures. In particular, the author beautifully renders Archie’s evolving relationships with his father as well as with his friend Chloe. Overall, this story will connect with kids despite the text’s occasional copy-editing and formatting errors. Cooper masterfully plays with well-worn myths and folklore to create a new Scottish tale imbued with its own playful magic.
Heartfelt, witty, and wonderfully original.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5120-5488-0
Page Count: 222
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 24, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A smart, lively account of a revealing episode in economic history.
Hammes’ (Economics/Univ. of Hawaii-Hilo; Shaping Our Nation, 1988) nonfiction title sheds light on the great inventor’s eccentric, intriguing foray into economic theory.
With the nation suffering from a sharp depression in the early 1920s after the inflationary boom of World War I, Thomas Edison figured he could solve the economic malaise with a plan to back the value of money with farming commodities as an alternative to the gold standard. Under his scheme, farmers would deposit their harvest in government warehouses and receive half of its 25-year average price as a loan in dollars printed by the Federal Reserve, an amount that would be repaid over the course of a year as the crops were sold off. Edison hoped to provide farmers a more stable income and the country a more stable currency founded on real value; his proposal drew much acclaim from the public and press—and scorn from economists. (One professor suggested that Edison was senile.) Economist Hammes gives a detailed, highly readable exposition of Edison’s complex scheme and its surprising resemblance to modern-day policy innovations. The Federal Reserve, he notes, now seems to be running a similar program—only instead of giving farmers money in exchange for their wheat, it gives bankers money in exchange for their toxic mortgage-backed securities. He sets Edison’s ideas against a lucid explanation of money, inflation and the gold standard, as well as a nuanced analysis of America’s 19th-century monetary controversies. At the time, currency was a stormy political issue pitting debtors, farmers and exporters against bankers and creditors. In Hammes’ vivid portrait, Edison embodies these contradictions: He’s a captain of industry who had a profound suspicion of both the Wall Street financiers who backed him and the boom-and-bust cycles that almost bankrupted him. He also emerges as a great American amateur: half-genius, half-crank, convinced that a little common-sense tinkering could improve the economy where the experts had failed. Hammes illuminates the crucial role money plays not just in the economy, but also in the national character.
A smart, lively account of a revealing episode in economic history.Pub Date: March 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0985066703
Page Count: 166
Publisher: Richard Mahler
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Passion balanced by intelligence runs through this beautiful, surprising novel about the restorative power of love.
In psychoanalyst Alexander’s debut novel, an accomplished young woman struggles to overcome her troubled past.
Kathleen Moore arrives at UCLA with more than her fair share of baggage. Often solitary, she’s evasive when it comes to her childhood, tumultuous years that were dominated by foster care. She also grapples with uncertainties regarding her future and her sexual identity. Still, she manages to make a few friends, including sympathetic Gary and Gayle, a therapist who evolves into a surrogate mother. The worst moments in Kathleen’s life are cushioned by such friends, who respond to her difficulties with extraordinary acts of kindness. Financial constraints and a compulsion to be of service lead Kathleen to pursue a medical career in the Army, which, in the era of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” requires her to put her love life on indefinite hold. An unanticipated injury in Iraq is the catalyst for her pursuit of a more authentic life in small-town California, particularly after she meets fiery yet nurturing Claire Hollander, who pushes Kathleen to prioritize her own happiness for the first time in her life. As with many first novels, Alexander’s debut is an ambitious project that seeks to cover considerable ground. The dense story spans multiple decades, including forays into the past. Still, though years may pass in a page, Alexander avoids abrupt transitions. The host of characters may seem excessive, but they’re all skillfully developed; collectively they inculcate the sense that generosity is not so rare a virtue as the hopeless among us might imagine. Rich, tactile prose brings to life settings as diverse as idyllic Canfield, Calif., and war-torn Iraq, while introspection and allusion keep the novel psychologically taut—a considerable feat considering the broad array of Kathleen’s anxieties.
Passion balanced by intelligence runs through this beautiful, surprising novel about the restorative power of love.Pub Date: April 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0984689910
Page Count: 279
Publisher: The Storyteller and the Healer
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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