Following the death of his father and faced with the prospect of a cold, hungry winter in Northern Australia, 16-year-old narrator Charlie Feehan struggles to find his way into adulthood. Set in a bustling working-class neighborhood in Richmond, Melbourne in 1919, Charlie goes behind his grieving mother’s back as he works as an alcohol runner for local crime boss Squizzy Taylor. Covering a lot of ground (poverty, violence, identity, family, friendship, romance, athleticism), this episodic novel has more than a few holes and contrivances. For instance, the streetwise kid who understands the danger faced by a local prostitute is unconvincingly naïve about the intentions of his mother’s violent suitor, a plot thread that seems inserted to help Charlie hold onto his ill-gotten cash. Still, this vivid coming-of-age tale, steeped in period dialogue that may initially prove challenging, may satisfy determined readers with its colorful characters, gritty action, a protagonist who grows and changes and its resonant themes and issues. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: April 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-375-83744-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2007
Hillenbrand takes license with the familiar song (the traditional words and music are reproduced at the end) to tell an enchanting story about baby animals picked up by the train and delivered to the children’s zoo. The full-color drawings are transportingly jolly, while the catchy refrain—“See the engine driver pull his little lever”—is certain to delight readers. Once the baby elephant, flamingo, panda, tiger, seal, and kangaroo are taken to the zoo by the train, the children—representing various ethnic backgrounds, and showing one small girl in a wheelchair—arrive. This is a happy book, filled with childhood exuberance. (Picture book. 3-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201804-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sloppy first novel that shows glimmers of promise.
A boy wizard afflicted with a rare disease battles the forces of evil in this debut fantasy novel.
Feslen Raster, an adopted 14-year-old boy suffering from a rare blood disorder, is viewed as “abnormal”–by official edict, all abnormal citizens are to be kept out of sight. Only his adoptive family’s high social standing allows him to lead a somewhat normal life, though he is still the object of much public ridicule. Feslen does have a few supporters, however: his brother Duxan, his friend Ka-Wei and the aged martial-arts teacher Master Chai, who has taken the young man under his wing. Master Chai sees Feslen’s untapped potential as a powerful mage, and even suspects he may be “the One” prophesied by the ancients to save the world from impending doom, in the form of a group of evil wizards conspiring to take over the land. When Master Chai is murdered and his daughter Mei Xue kidnapped, Feslen vows to rescue her. First, though, he must corral the vast but untamed magical gifts with which he’s been blessed. Embarking on his mission with a motley crew consisting of his brother, Ka-Wei, a mysterious princess, a thief and another novice mage, Feslen encounters the usual array of monsters and spirits on a journey that becomes a coming-of-age experience–both emotionally and magically–for the young wizard. Kang’s debut certainly won’t win any points for style. But despite a derivative, predictable plot and countless mechanical issues, the author’s marriage of Eastern and Western elements in a fantasy setting is intriguingly rendered, and the empathy and love with which Fester is portrayed will keep readers interested.
A sloppy first novel that shows glimmers of promise.Pub Date: July 7, 2006
ISBN: 0-595-37563-4
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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