The Beyond the Western Sea series, Book 1 Avi Avon Camelot Fiction, CH Historical Fiction ****
Description
In 1851, Ireland has been devastated by the potato famine. The agents of English landowners have taken to tearing down the meager shanties of the penniless Irish
peasants, giving them no choice but to move on or be driven out. Fortunately for Patrick and Maura O'Connell, their father - long since gone to America to seek his
fortune - finally sent money and tickets for his family to join him in the promised land. Surely in America the streets are paved with gold and lined with food, and
jobs are as plentiful as the countrymen are rich! Of course, it's not quite that easy. Just getting to America may prove impossible. First, they must pass through
Liverpool, where they discover many would-be emigrants end up stranded, victims of thieves and con artists who prey on even the few pennies the homeless Irish have.
What chance do two lone children have of getting out, when even adults are broken by Liverpool's cruelties?
Young Laurence Kirkle, the second son of an English lord in London, stands to inherit little of the family fortune and none of its prestige. These are to go to his
cruel brother Albert, and though Lord Kirkle prefers Laurence, he isn't willing to defy tradition and intervene in Albert's brutal treatment of the boy. Finally, the
young Kirkle has had enough. He runs away from home to make his own fortune in the distant land of America. As a child of privilege who has never even been outside his
posh London home without a servant to guide him, he soon finds himself in far more trouble than he ever imagined possible... all the more so because of the thousand
pounds he stole from his father's desk to pay his way, money that is promptly stolen by a one-eyed thief.
Review
A well-researched historical fiction novel, Avi details the ghastly conditions inflicted on the would-be emigrants, but not to the point of tedium. The O'Connell
children and Laurence face hardships they never imagined, clinging to their dreams of a better life ahead with increasing desperation. One of my very few objections to
this book is that it took the entire length of the story before they even set foot on the boat, and in the meantime the narrative jumps between numerous other characters
of varying degrees of relevance. Still, it's a pretty good story that held my interest.
The Beyond the Western Sea series, Book 2 Avi Avon Camelot Fiction, CH Historical Fiction ****
Description
Patrick, Maura, and the actor Mr. Drabble, who befriended the children in Liverpool and was rewarded with their mother's unused ticket, are at last sailing to
America. Cooped up like animals in steerage, only the hope of a better life in America keeps them going amid storm, filth, and deadly sickness... but will crossing
the Western Sea really solve all their problems, or simply bring new ones?
Young Laurence, much humbled since running away from his wealthy father's home, has made the boat. Stowed away in the cluttered hold and constantly in danger of being
discovered by the crew, he is perhaps the only passenger in worse conditions than the immigrants in steerage. His only friend is Patrick O'Connell, but there is little
the Irish boy can do to help. Besides, Laurence has other things on his mind. The one-eyed thief who stole his father's money is aboard the ship as well, traveling like
a king in the staterooms, and Laurence is determined to recover the cash.
Review
I think this chose an awkward place and way to end. Some elements tie up a bit too neatly, and others are left too loose. Everyone kept thinking that running off to
the New World would solve all their problems. In the end, I felt like some characters still thought that, if they just ran far enough, they would find everything they
ever wanted. (I wonder if perhaps Avi wanted to write a third volume - Laurence, at least, may have had another book's worth of adventures left in him - but never got
around to it.) That said, it moves a little faster than the first volume, as the immigrants learn that life in America isn't quite what they'd imagined.
Long, long ago, the land was ruled by wizards whose power was wishes that worked. Over the years, those wishes grew fewer and fewer, until the last wizard has
only five left. He needs to give these to a good person before he dies, someone who will guard them and use them well. He tries to approach the cruel King Ruskin,
but is brushed off... until, at last, he is found by the young servant Morwenna. She doesn't know what to think when the old man gives her the strange gift, but soon
she learns that wishes are not to be made lightly - for when the last wish is made, her life will end.
Review
This reads fast and isn't as predictable as one might expect from the start. Morwenna faces difficult choices, and sometimes stumbles in handling them, but
she does learn. I enjoyed this one, though I'm not sure if kids will enjoy or understand the necessity of the ending.
Avi HarperTrophy Fiction, CH Chiller Themes: Ghosts ***
Description
John Proud's troubles started when he began researching his family tree for his high school history class. Buried in the past is another John Proud, hung in
1854 for being a demon after numerous murders, assaults, and other evil deeds. Strangely drawn to the gravesite, young John is startled to find the old John -
looking much like himself - waiting in spirit form. The ghost longs to return to the land of the living, to continue its evil ways. Through today's John, he may
get that chance, unless the boy can find a way to stop the beast that seems to be within him already.
Review
This didn't grip me like it should have. The menace seemed somehow distant and disconnected from the main characters, though John did struggle a great deal with
the dark thoughts in his head that seemed to have an external origin. Somehow I felt the logic of the ghost was a bit weak. Otherwise, it's a decent story, and it
certainly could've been worse.
Avi Scholastic Fiction, CH Historical Fiction/Mystery Themes: Cross-Genre **
Description
In the Kingdom of Pergemontio, young Fabrizio lives with his old master, Mangus, and wife. Mangus lives under house arrest, having narrowly escaped execution for
practicing magic - a confession extracted after torture and imprisonment, the standard treatment for his evil kind. He was a harmless charlatan, performing tricks of
illusion and sleight-of-hand, but in Pergemontio the people fear even that much "magic" as the Devil's work, and the king is among the most superstitious of all.
Therefore, it comes as a great shock when one stormy night the king himself calls upon Mangus for help. His daughter, the princess, claims to have seen a ghost in his
own castello, and surely only a "magician" like Mangus can placate the unquiet dead... a task he had better succeed at if he wishes to remain alive. With his servant
Fabrizio in tow, the reluctant old man tries to unravel the mystery of the ghost, a mystery that weaves together conspiracies, superstition, and deadly plots for
power.
Review
I've often wondered if Avi isn't a name used for a group of writers, or at least if the real Avi employs ghost writers to help with his remarkably prolific career.
If so, this book almost certainly came from one of the lesser of the lot. No story should have to rely on near-nonstop proverbs and anecdotes to tell itself, as this
one does. Avi usually does a better job of establishing his settings and times in historical fiction works, too. I didn't get any great sense of the time period or
locale other than the usual quasi-medieval Europe of most would-be fantasies, full of dank castles, scheming nobles, superstitious people, and not much else. The fact
that this rates as Historical Fiction rather than Fantasy should be a hint as to how much "real" magic comes into play. The plot is simultaneously convoluted and
obvious, the solution too clean. I expect better from Avi... or most any writer, actually.
The rural Colorado town of Elk Valley, like many small towns in 1925, has a one-room school, where farm kids go to learn when they aren't needed at home. A total of
eight kids, ranging from second to eighth grades, attend classes, some more often than others. Eighth-grader Ida Bidson hopes to take her final exams and go on to the
high school in a nearby town, eventually to be a teacher, but her plans are put on hold when the teacher is called away for a family emergency. She leaves too late in
the school year for a replacement to be brought, so school is effectively closed. Mr. Jordan, head of the school board, has even locked the schoolhouse. Since her higher
education depends on whether or not her family has a good enough crop to pay for it (as they do this year, but maybe not next), this means means Ida may never go on to
high school, and all of the children will have to repeat a grade... unless they get a new teacher without the school board's knowledge, a secret teacher for a secret
school. Who better to teach them than Ida herself?
Review
Like most of Avi's books that I've read so far, this is a well-researched historical fiction tale, managing to establish the local times and conditions without
going overboard on dry details. Ida has to struggle, uniting her fellow classmates (even those who appear not to value education) against the grown-ups of the town.
It reads fast - I finished it in under 2 hours - and, while I can't say it's unpredictable, it's still a good story.
I wonder, in this world that glorifies mediocrity and goofing off and marginalizes intelligence, how many modern children would go to the lengths Ida and her classmates
do in order to ensure their education. Much as the frontier lifestyle seemed to rob kids of a carefree childhood, sometimes I have to wonder if today's kids aren't being
deprived of developing the sense of self-reliance and responsibility that comes with being expected to do more than watch TV or play video games.
A bored boy swaps places with an alley cat, the perfect princess of a faraway land is invisible, a curious schoolboy investigates a bizarre team mascot, a shoemaker's
broken agreement leads to dire consequences, and a vain young man's quest to be the center of attention brings ironic results... noted children's author Avi pens five
tales of transformation in Strange Happenings.
Review
As anthologies go - and I admittedly have very poor luck in choosing them - this was decent enough. Avi crafts them with a certain fairy tale feel, with morals apparent
but never explicitly spelled out. The first tale, Bored Tom, is the worst of them, feeling overlong, but they're all readable, and entertaining enough for short
stories. I wonder if any of these were seeds for book-length stories that never fully took root; Simon (the last story) in particular almost felt like he wanted to
tell more, but for some reason never found the rest of the "book" in the premise.
In the mid-1800's, thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is preparing to set sail from England to reunite with her upper-class family in America. Her father, who owns
the company in charge of the Seahawk, has made all the arrangements, and there are supposed to be two other families traveling with her to keep her company, so
Charlotte is rather looking forward to the adventure. Things start to go wrong before they board the vessel. Despite her father's agent's reassurances about the
integrity of Captain Jaggery, no sailor on the pier will venture near the Seahawk. The other families have had changes of plans at the last minute, and her
father's agent must head off to Scotland immediately, making Charlotte the only passenger - and only girl - on the ship. Thus begins a voyage that will see storm,
mutiny, death... and murder. A murder that Charlotte Doyle herself is accused of. This book is her story, told in her own words.
Review
This is one of few Newbery Award books I've read that I actually liked. (Many tend to be depressing. I don't care if it's "realistic" - is it so wrong to want a
somewhat uplifting conclusion? But, I digress...) Charlotte's tale describes the rough life of an 1800's sailing ship with great accuracy, without sacrificing character
or story. As for Charlotte herself, her transformation from proper English lady to hero (and murder suspect) occurs naturally and believably. The rest of the characters
round out a decent cast, particularly the antagonist Captain Jaggery. At the end, I felt like cheering.
Andy has had a rough year. It started when his mother was killed in an auto accident. Then his father moved them from their old house into a new apartment. Now, his
dad is even starting to date again. The last thing Andy wants is more problems, and he manages to avoid them... until the phone rings one day. The stranger on the other
end wants to confess a murder. He tells the police, but of course there's no evidence, and the man didn't even leave his own name. Odder still, Andy discovers the
"victim" is alive and well. Everyone tells Andy that it was a harmless prank, and he should let it go, but the more he finds out, the less sense it all makes. Is Andy
the only one who can stop a killer, or is he just crying wolf?
Review
This is billed as a "tale of terror," and it is indeed a chilling story. It is not the clear-cut case of Andy being right and the world being wrong that one might
infer from the description. Andy's decisions become more and more obsessive, blurring the lines of morality even as it becomes clear that the man on the other end of
the line was perhaps a little more than an idle prankster. The ending is tragic in its own way, and oddly ambiguous. Still, it was a decent suspense story. I found the
format in the edition I read - large diagonal slashes at the start of every paragraph and unnecessarily large margins, especially on the bottom of the page - distracting,
but the story itself is a good psychological thriller, even for grown-ups looking for a quick read.
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