A briskly paced, action-packed, surprisingly realistic war story.
The experiences of a 12-year-old in the Battle of the Atlantic are chronicled in this engrossing historical novel.
When a surfacing U-boat destroys their fishing boat and severely injures his older brother, Danny, off the North Carolina coast, Colton assumes his older brother’s identity and enlists in the U.S. Navy. After surviving the brutal trials of boot camp, Colton is assigned to a patrol craft, designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare. Colton’s ship first patrols American coastal waters looking for U-boats preying on merchant vessels, then is assigned to escort convoys traversing the North Atlantic. Operating in intensely adverse weather conditions, Colton’s ship battles “wolf packs” of several U-boats attacking convoys. In one action, the patrol craft is rammed and sunk by a U-boat. Colton’s closest shipmate is killed, and the surviving crew remain at sea in a lifeboat until rescued. A leg wound lands Colton in a hospital stateside and gains him an ensuing discharge from the Navy. The narrative is full of action but short on character development. If the idea of a 12-year-old enlisting in the Navy seems blatantly implausible, there is historical precedent. In an afterword, Watkins explains that his inspiration for the novel is the real-life experience of 12-year-old Calvin Graham, who enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific theater.
A briskly paced, action-packed, surprisingly realistic war story. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-338-05790-4
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick.
An elderly witch, a magical girl, a brave carpenter, a wise monster, a tiny dragon, paper birds, and a madwoman converge to thwart a magician who feeds on sorrow.
Every year Elders of the Protectorate leave a baby in the forest, warning everyone an evil Witch demands this sacrifice. In reality, every year, a kind witch named Xan rescues the babies and find families for them. One year Xan saves a baby girl with a crescent birthmark who accidentally feeds on moonlight and becomes “enmagicked.” Magic babies can be tricky, so Xan adopts little Luna herself and lovingly raises her, with help from an ancient swamp monster and a chatty, wee dragon. Luna’s magical powers emerge as her 13th birthday approaches. Meanwhile, Luna’s deranged real mother enters the forest to find her daughter. Simultaneously, a young carpenter from the Protectorate enters the forest to kill the Witch and end the sacrifices. Xan also enters the forest to rescue the next sacrificed child, and Luna, the monster, and the dragon enter the forest to protect Xan. In the dramatic denouement, a volcano erupts, the real villain attempts to destroy all, and love prevails. Replete with traditional motifs, this nontraditional fairy tale boasts sinister and endearing characters, magical elements, strong storytelling, and unleashed forces. Luna has black eyes, curly, black hair, and “amber” skin.
Guaranteed to enchant, enthrall, and enmagick. (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-61620-567-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
A compelling read about the meaning of family, identity, and culture, set in pre–Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico.
In searching for his absentee father, a biracial boy gets closer to his Puerto Rican roots.
Though Marcus Vega was born in Puerto Rico, the 14-year-old hasn’t been back since he was 2. Marcus lives outside of Philadelphia with his mom, a white woman, and his little brother, Charlie, who has Down syndrome. Marcus towers over the other kids, and he uses his size to his advantage, walking kids to and from school and stashing their phones in his locker (out of the principal’s reach) for cash. After a school bully calls Charlie “the one word that sends [him] into a blind rage,” Marcus punches him in the mouth and is suspended. Marcus’ mom decides that the three of them should go on a trip to regroup, which is how they find themselves in Puerto Rico looking for the dad Marcus hasn’t seen in 10 years, a search that takes them and readers all over the island. Immigrant and first-generation readers will relate to Marcus’ feelings of not belonging in Puerto Rico. Marcus’ eagerness to reconnect with the father who abandoned him is believably naïve and allows him to overlook his relatives’ criticisms of his dad, but both they and Cartaya allow him the space to come to his own conclusions. Marcus' Puerto Rican relatives are lively and loving; their English conversations with Marcus include non-italicized Spanish words and phrases that provide cultural texture.
A compelling read about the meaning of family, identity, and culture, set in pre–Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico. (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-101-99726-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
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