A study not a story, really, demonstrating—decisively—just what the title says. Until he and Pete and Geoff build the camp in the ditch, Derek doesn't worry about the air raids; scrambling to the shelter is routine unless you're lucky and, lagging behind, get a look at the Hurricanes intercepting the bombers. Then the camp is smashed by the White Road gang, Geoff's blackbird egg is broken, and Derek's darts, and Pete's prized six-shooter is gone; they'll have revenge, says Tom who's about to go into the Merchant Navy and seems very big, very responsible and resolute, to the younger boys. But the mudball ambush turns into a rough and tumble battle and then, worse, Tom and Johnny Wiggs, long-time antagonists, face each other alone, waiting to spring: "This was the bomb about to go off." The hate that he's seen lodges in Derek, bringing fear that he can't handle; and that night a bomb kills Pete, his lodestone, "and the world he would live in from now on would be a different world." In the sense that the boys have no options, there is no plot; insofar as they are done to, not doers, they are not protagonists; and to that extent the book is handicapped, especially for the reader as young—not more than ten—as the boys here. Their delineation is sure (from a snatch of dialogue you might know them individually and jointly) and Tom, being a surprise, is an uncommon quantity in a juvenile. The book has many excellences but it remains problematic.
Pub Date: Sept. 23, 1970
ISBN: 0152061061
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1970
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.
Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.
Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.
An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel. (afterword, further resources) (Graphic historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series.
An orphaned street urchin is recruited into an elite school for thieves.
In an alternate world where France is the dominant world power, 13-year-old Tom Morgan has had to scrimp, starve, and steal on the streets of London to survive. Born into a workhouse, he doesn’t know anything about his father, while his mother may have been from North Africa. One thing he does know is the sort of cruelty that awaits the poor who are sent to the workhouse, and he’s determined not to go back. But when their camp is raided and his friends are captured by workhouse agents, the only thing Tom can think of is how to get them out. Enter the Corsair, a cunning and mysterious man with a proposition: He wants to recruit Tom into Beaufort’s School for Deceptive Arts. From nabbing treasures to forging identity papers, Beaufort’s promises to teach Tom everything he needs to know to become a Shadow Thief and a member of the Shadow League, the secret global organization that helps keep the world’s political power in balance. But Beaufort’s has its own rules and secrets, and if Tom is to survive long enough to help his friends, he’ll need to figure them out quickly. Clever and gripping, this fast-paced boarding school story will appeal to fans of the Mysterious Benedict Society and Spy School series.
A thrilling first installment in an adventurous new series. (Adventure. 10-14)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9781665982283
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
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