Greene (Castle of Fire, 2012, etc.) returns with a third volume of his YA nautical adventure series set in the early 19th century.
Jonathan Moore and his fellow 14-year-old cohorts, Sean Flagon and Delain Dowdeswell, are all in London as the book begins. Jonathan and Sean have been there for about 10 months since returning from their last mission aboard the Danielle, during which they were instrumental in defeating a fleet of Napoleon’s vessels. Delain arrived in the city more recently, when her father, the governor of the Bahamas, decided that it was time for his three daughters to be schooled in proper social graces. The boys are anxious to return to sea, and Delain is quite bored with her “studies.” But another rousing escapade awaits the teens, as midshipman Jonathan and Marine private Sean are to be stationed aboard the beautiful, swift HMS Paladin. Unbeknownst to the crown, someone has hijacked the Echo, one of the king’s ships, and the Paladin is next on the thieves’ shopping list. The Paladin’s orders are mysteriously changed, and its crew is sent off on a secret mission to the Dalmatian island of Dugi Otok. Jonathan and Sean soon find themselves in battle against the bloodthirsty Nikomed Aggar, a henchman for a Russian profiteer. Meanwhile, Delain, stuck in England and fueled by an insatiable curiosity, suspects that something is amiss with local Lord and Lady Wilder, so she embarks upon a personal mission of espionage. Greene has produced another page-turner here, filling the seas with gunfire and knife fights and London’s streets with a network of spies and traitors hidden in tea parties and fox hunts. He deftly alternates scenes of maritime- and land-based exploits, creating a perfect mix of grisly nautical violence, urban skulduggery, and gentle takedowns of British high society. Delain is a delightful character who’s smart, funny, and independent; Jonathan and Sean, meanwhile, are heroes of the first order—tenderhearted, ingenious, and fierce in battle. Greene’s fluid prose ably handles the extensive nautical terminology, making it easily understandable, and the dialogue reflects both the pretension and the wit of the period. An exciting, satisfying historical novel with a touch of poignancy.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5440-1367-1
Page Count: 454
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A prototypical survival story: after an airplane crash, a 13-year-old city boy spends two months alone in the Canadian wilderness. In transit between his divorcing parents, Brian is the plane's only passenger. After casually showing him how to steer, the pilot has a heart attack and dies. In a breathtaking sequence, Brian maneuvers the plane for hours while he tries to think what to do, at last crashing as gently and levelly as he can manage into a lake. The plane sinks; all he has left is a hatchet, attached to his belt. His injuries prove painful but not fundamental. In time, he builds a shelter, experiments with berries, finds turtle eggs, starts a fire, makes a bow and arrow to catch fish and birds, and makes peace with the larger wildlife. He also battles despair and emerges more patient, prepared to learn from his mistakes—when a rogue moose attacks him and a fierce storm reminds him of his mortality, he's prepared to make repairs with philosophical persistence. His mixed feelings surprise him when the plane finally surfaces so that he can retrieve the survival pack; and then he's rescued. Plausible, taut, this is a spellbinding account. Paulsen's staccato, repetitive style conveys Brian's stress; his combination of third-person narrative with Brian's interior monologue pulls the reader into the story. Brian's angst over a terrible secret—he's seen his mother with another man—is undeveloped and doesn't contribute much, except as one item from his previous life that he sees in better perspective, as a result of his experience. High interest, not hard to read. A winner.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1987
ISBN: 1416925082
Page Count: -
Publisher: Bradbury
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1987
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