A mysterious agency singles out two teens for a dangerous mission to the past. Kate, who is white, swims for the high-school team; Michael, who is African-American, is a skilled equestrian. The two best friends find themselves chosen by the CyberTimeSurfing Institute to go back to 1778 to warn General Lafayette of a British trap and to save the life of Michael’s distant ancestor, John Banks, who rode with Lafayette. Any time-travel novel necessarily rests on a contrivance, but this novel, Favole’s debut, is more contrived than most. The need for the mission is so poorly justified—some unnamed alteration to the present/future as we know it will occur if the kids do not succeed—that there is no tension to the narrative at all. The very arbitrariness of it all guarantees that Michael and Kate will succeed, each using his or her special skills to accomplish the mission. Once in the past, these two modern teens have very little difficulty navigating a radically different environment from the one they’ve come from, winning against all credibility the near-instant trust of the French and Continental troops and playing a key role in the Battle of Barren Hill. The novel appears to have been written to highlight the strategic accomplishments of General Lafayette and to honor the African-Americans who fought with the patriots; an author’s note details the life of the real John Banks and Lafayette’s career. Unfortunately, the author’s note is ultimately more interesting than this predictable, didactic effort. (Fiction. 10-15)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-930826-00-1
Page Count: 192
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
Masquerading as a man, a young woman sets out to find her friend’s killer in New York and London at the turn of the century; disguise proves to be simultaneously liberating and imprisoning in Lewin’s big-canvas historical novel. No one is who she or he seems to be, not the gender-bending heroine Jackie who spends most of her life as Jack so she can play baseball; not her best friend, Nance, a black performer who “passes” as white, and who dies of a stab wound in the opening pages. Cleverly structured and meticulously detailed so that every piece of information neatly clicks into the jigsaw-puzzle ending, the novel runs on two tracks. One chronicles Jackie’s past history starting with her grandmother (whose incredible life both mirrors and influences her granddaughter’s); the other details her current adventures as the avenger of her best friend, along with a surprise unveiling of her father’s murderer. After a vivid trip through 19th-century America, the novel concludes in and around the music halls of London, where Jackie’s past and present converge. The derring-do climax fails to ignite, for this is a book in which the journey surpasses the destination, but overall Lewin produces a grand adventure that readers won’t soon forget. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-8050-6225-4
Page Count: 520
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1999
This sequel to The Squire’s Tale (1998) finds Morris’s affable young hero, Terence, still serving the legendary Sir Gawain. The kingdom of Camelot, where they are living, is in despair over Queen Guinevere’s affair with Sir Lancelot; when Gawain is challenged to meet the Knight of the Green they set off on a new quest. Terence is still young, but he is no longer the novice of the previous novel; when Gawain is imprisoned by the treacherous Marquis of Alva and scheduled for execution, it’s up to Terence to save not only his knight, but the beautiful and spirited Lady Eileen. The three of them come upon an enchanted castle, where the lord of the realm turns out to be the Green Knight in disguise: Gawain is forced to pass two additional challenges in order to regain face. There is a well-crafted but tumultuous unfolding of events, and an author’s note in which Morris explains his abiding affection and respect for Gawain; this personal touch may send readers straight off to Chaucer. Even Arthur and Guinevere make up in this engaging adventure, an ideal follow-up to the first book and just as full of characters who are brave, loyal, and admirably human. (Fiction. 12-14)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-395-91211-3
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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