Thomas (Doing Time, 1997, etc.) writes an exposé on Hollywood, stardom, and the broadcasting media in another hip, cutting-edge story of conflicted youth. Good-looking, wannabe journalist Patrick Sheridan’s coming-of-age begins when the high-school senior leaves the small-town, Bible-toting world of Doggett, Texas, to become an ace reporter for a direct-to-the-classroom news show (modeled after the real-life Channel One) in Los Angeles. Packing as much punch and as many plots as Chris Crutcher, Thomas takes Patrick through first love, first sex (with a television star), first experiences with drugs and getting drunk, as well as discovering the mystery behind his adoption (an estranged, also-adopted sister turns out to be his birth mother). These stories are set against the typically superficial backdrop of a slick news show where looks earn Patrick a high profile beneath the ten-gallon hat he’s made to wear. The Texas innocent soon experiences the disintegration of his ideals and beliefs; when Patrick lands in Ireland on assignment, he drops out of sight and wends his way to an ancestor’s hometown of Kilbeg. The final fifth of the book focuses on a more cynical Patrick searching for answers; it’s a little disappointing when he’s shipped back to Texas without enlightenment. Thomas covers a lot of territory, and Patrick’s journeys of the heart are as compelling as his sincere attempts to do the right thing, but readers should be prepared for a raw, ambiguous conclusion. (Fiction. 13-15)
Pub Date: June 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-80957-3
Page Count: 266
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1998
An Anglo-Indian boy finds a measure of peace in the landscape of his deceased mother’s childhood, and begins to understand the source of his compulsion to run. The summer after his mother’s death, Kendall is sent to visit his great-grandfather, Armando, a Native American who lives on top of a mesa, in Acoma, or Sky City; it’s a largely abandoned pueblo built centuries ago, overlooking the valley that lies between it and another mesa known as the Enchanted Mesa. Kendall has always been a runner, driven by some inner spirit; he learns from Armando that he is the last in a long line of Acoma runners, men who ran as part of their belief system, and who were especially revered for their bravery and stamina. The mysterious Enchanted Mesa challenges Kendall to run as he never has before, and that kindles his curiosity about his family’s past and his own destiny. He begins to understand the part of his nature that he inherited from his mother, but also realizes that he will never be accepted as a true Acoman because of the Anglo blood that is his legacy from his father. Little has composed a fine coming-of-age story; she enhances it with a lot of insight into a vanishing way of life and the need to preserve it. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 8, 1999
ISBN: 0-380-97623-4
Page Count: 147
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
During WWII in the Philippines, American citizens trapped in the war zone were imprisoned for years by the Japanese, events that provide the context for Hertenstein’s first novel, which focuses on one 14-year-old, Louise. Louise’s minister father is captured in Manila, leaving her and her weak-willed mother to face life alone with other Baptist missionaries on an outlying island. The colony escapes into the hills for a time, but is discovered and interned in a concentration camp. Eventually they are moved to Manila, and later to the notorious camp, Los Banos. One of Louise’s friends is discovered with a radio and executed; food is scarce; people are dying. Hertenstein writes with sensitivity, although the story is often disjointed, e.g., the news that the colony has been taken prisoner comes in a letter Louise writes to her sister, instead of through Louise’s natural-sounding first-person narration, which filled the first 60 pages. When the Japanese disappear from the camp, Louise, now almost 18, rejoices that finally there will be “No bowing, no bayonets,” yet bowing and bayonets, major features of Japanese concentration camps, have hardly been mentioned. A first work that is shakily compelling, often uplifting, and certainly promising. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16381-5
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
