Trials, Travails, & True Confessions: Tales of Intrigue and Adventure
Staff -- School Library Journal, 11/1/1996
The novels below take place in the past, the present, and the future; the settings vary from New Zealand to the U.S. to France and Denmark. They all have story lines that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Some are funny; others are intense and serious tales of strength and survival. All will make terrific booktalks. The issue date of SLJ's original review follows each annotation.
ALCOCK, Vivien. The Trial of Anna Cotman. Delacorte. (o.p.).
Gr 5-8 -- Torn between wanting friends and fear of the terrifying turn the secret society to which she has gained admittance is taking, 14-year-old Anna speaks out against one of its members and is subjected to an inquisition. The verdict: a story that will keep the pages turning until the ending, which is satisfying and just. (Feb., 1990)
ALDER, Elizabeth. The King's Shadow. Farrar. Tr $16. ISBN 0-374-34182-6.
Gr 6-9 -- A Welsh orphan is mutilated and sold into slavery before finding a place for himself beside England's last Saxon king. Fully fleshed out characterizations and nonstop action. (July, 1995)
AVI. Poppy. illus. by Brian Floca. (Richard Jackson Bks.). Orchard. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-09483-9. PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-531-08783-2.
Gr 3-5 -- An intrepid young mouse musters her courage to defeat a great horned owl who has hoodwinked her family into believing that he is their protector. Tender fantasy that delves into issues of courage, loyalty, and justice. (Dec., 1995)
AVI. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Orchard. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-53105893-X; PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-531-08493-0.
Gr 5-8 -- On a long, grueling journey from England to Rhode Island in 1802, a 12- year-old changes from a prim and proper girl to a swashbuckling mate of a mutinous crew and is accused of murder by the captain. Awash with shipboard activity, intense feelings, and a keen sense of time and place, the story is a throwback to good old-fashioned adventure yarns on the high seas. (Sept., 1990)
CROSS, Gillian. The Great American Elephant Chase. Holiday. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-8234-1016-1.
Gr 4-6 -- A rip-roaring romp from Pittsburgh to Nebraska in 1881, as an orphan boy and a con man's daughter try to keep her elephant hidden from a thieving scoundrel. Comic adventure at its best. (May, 1993)
DeFELICE, Cynthia. Weasel. Macmillan. Tr $11.95. ISBN 0-02-726457-2.
Gr 4-7 -- A ruthless villain known as Weasel commits unspeakable atrocities in the frontier wilderness. When 12-year-old Nathan's family is victimized, the boy is determined to avenge the wrongs on his own. A masterfully told, riveting tale sure to inspire strong discussion about moral choices. (May, 1990)
DICKINSON, Peter. Eva. Dell. pap. $3.99. ISBN 0-440-20766-5.
Gr 8 Up -- Provocative ideas, seamlessly related, draw readers into an unforgettable possibility, when a comatose girl's memory and brain patterns are transferred to the healthy body of a chimp. Raising ethical and moral questions, Dickinson creates a vision both profound and chilling. (Apr., 1989)
FLEISCHMAN, Sid. The Midnight Horse. illus. by Peter Sis. Greenwillow. RTE $13. ISBN 0-688-09441-4.
Gr 3-6 -- When a magician-turned-ghost allies with young Touch against the boy's only surviving relative, the parsimonious, conniving old judge doesn't stand a chance. A spellbinding tale, written by a true wizard when it comes to conjuring up images of witchery and illusion. (Sept., 1990)
HUDSON, Jan. Sweetgrass. Scholastic. pap. $3.50. ISBN 0-590-43486-1.
Gr 5-10 -- The poetic lore of the Blackfoot Indian sharpens a compelling coming-of-age tale of 15-year-old Sweetgrass's longing to be the wife of Eagle-Sun, and of the harrowing experiences she endures to ensure her tribe's survival. Majestic historical fiction with concerns that echo problems in today's society. (Apr., 1989)
IRWIN, Hadley. The Original Freddie Ackerman. McElderry. Tr $14.95 ISBN 0-689-50562-0.
Gr 5-8 -- Being exiled to an island off Maine with his two oddball great-aunts is not exactly Freddie's idea of a great summer vacation, but things turn out to be more exciting and fulfilling than the imaginative young man could ever have dreamed. (Aug., 1992)
KLAUSE, Annette Curtis. The Silver Kiss. Delacorte. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-385-30160-X.
Gr 8 Up -- Mesmerizing and dangerous, Simon comes into Zoe's life just as everything familiar to her is ebbing away. Klause's shimmering debut puts the bite back into vampire lore for contemporary readers. (Sept., 1990)
LOWRY, Lois. Number the Stars. Houghton. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-395-51060-0.
Gr 3-7 -- The gripping story of a 10-year-old Danish girl and her family's courageous efforts to smuggle Jews out of their Nazi-occupied homeland to safety in Sweden. Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery. (Mar., 1989)
MAHY, Margaret. Underrunners. Viking. Tr $14. ISBN 0-670-84179-X.
Gr 6-8 -- A multilayered thriller set on the windswept coast of New Zealand. Readers will be kept on edge by the deft plotting, chilling descriptions, and intricate characterizations as the young protagonists are kidnapped at gunpoint by the girl's psychotic father. (Feb., 1992)
MORPURGO, Michael. Waiting for Anya. Viking. Tr $13.99. ISBN 0-670-83735-0.
Gr 5-9 -- Accidentally discovering that Jewish children are hiding in the countryside, Michael, and then his entire French village, help them escape to Spain. A gripping, triumphant tale of courage in its many forms. (Apr., 1991)
MORPURGO, Michael. The War of Jenkins' Ear. Philomel. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-399-22735-0.
Gr 6-9 -- Toby meets a remarkable boy who emanates a Christlike aura and proves to be a kindred spirit to Jesus in more ways than one. A provocative novel fraught with the tensions of English boarding school life. (Sept., 1995)
NEWTH, Mette. The Abduction. tr. from Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally & Steve Murray. Farrar. Tr $14.95. ISBN 0-374-30008-9
Gr 8 Up -- An Eskimo girl and her betrothed, kidnapped from their 16th-century Greenland home, are tortured and brutalized in the name of religion and science. Alternating narratives between the captives and the Norwegian adolescent who guards them poignantly parallel two worlds. Riveting, thought-provoking, and demanding. (Dec., 1989)
PAULSEN, Gary. The Voyage of the Frog. Orchard. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05805-0.
Gr 6-9 -- A taut survival story of a 14-year-old boy--grieving over his uncle's recent death -- caught at sea in a small sailboat and pushed by a storm 350 miles from home. Paulsen's spare prose offers an affecting blend of the boy's inner thoughts and keen observations of the power of nature to destroy and to heal. (Jan., 1989)
SCIESZKA, Jon. Knights of the Kitchen Table. illus. by Lane Smith. Viking. RTE $11.99. ISBN 0-670-83622-2.
Gr 3-5 -- Transported to the Middle Ages, three friends save themselves from a dragon and a giant through quick thinking. The tongue-in-cheek narrative makes for laugh-out-loud enjoyment, and the easy-to-read sentences and zany dialogue perfectly suit the breathless pace. (Aug. 1991)
TEMPLE, Frances. Grab Hands and Run. (Richard Jackson Bks.). Orchard. Tr $15.95. ISBN 0-531-05480-2. PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-531-08630-5.
Gr 6-9 -- Crossing borders from their native El Salvador to Canada is a costly and dangerous proposition for 12-year-old Felipe, his younger sister, and their mother. The harrowing and absorbing escape is made all the more real by the fully fleshed out characters and heart-stopping situations. (Apr., 1993)
TURNER, Ann. Rosemary's Witch. (Charlotte Zolotow Bks.). HarperCollins. Tr $14. ISBN 0-06-026127-7; PLB $13.89. ISBN 0-06-026128-5.
Gr 4-6 -- Rosemary senses that something is wrong when she and her family move into a new house, but little does she suspect that a nearly 150-year-old bitter, lonely woman has no intention of letting them stay there. Gritty, earthy, and sensuous with touches of warmth and moments of terror. (May, 1991)
