PDF - Christian Library Journal

HIGH SCHOOL
FICTION
dress switch and now scandal, pales in
comparison to Allison’s simple but fulfilled one.
April and May are sisters. Torn apart during the
adoption process, they each adapt to their
respective loving families. But by age ten harsh
circumstances propel April to return to the
orphanage. May is brought up without the
knowledge of having been adopted. The secret
unfolds after a trunk’s lid is lifted. There is a
sister out there somewhere and she is
determined to find her!
Following the conclusion of April & May
readers will find an endorsement of the books by
the founder and director of the Orphan Train
Heritage Society, an organization made up
mostly of the descendants of the actual Orphan
Train Riders.
Debbie Lindsay, Homeschool Parent, Eatonville, Washington
Lord Brocktree : a tale from Redwall, by
Brian Jacques; illustrated by Fangorn.
LCCN 00025140. New York: Philomel,
Penguin Putnam, 2000. ISBN
0399235906, HBB, $22.95.
F. Badgers--Fiction; Animals--Fiction; Fantasy. 370
p. High school (Middle school).
Lord Brocktree is a delightful tale of good and
evil. The mountain of Salamandastron, home of
the Badger Lord Stonepaw, is invaded by a
horde of vermin. When blue rats by the
hundreds, led by wildcat Ungatt Trunn, take
over the mountain, Stonepaw sends Fleetscut
hare for help. In visions Lord Stonepaw has
seen a mighty badger. Ungatt Trunn has visions
of the great badger too, but his response has
been fear.
Unknown to them, the mighty Badger Lord,
Brocktree, has seen a vision of the mountain and
is looking for it. As Brocktree journeys toward
Salamandastron, Dorothea hare joins him. Soon
their company includes an assortment of hares,
moles, otters, squirrels, and other animals.
Fleetscut finds Brocktree and his friends and
leads them to Salamandastron where, after a
great battle, Lord Brocktree takes command of
the mountain.
Brian Jacques never leaves any doubt in the
mind of the reader as to which side is good and
which is evil. Ungatt Trunn deals with
everyone, including his own troops, cruelly.
Brocktree deals fairly and kindly and believes
you should never kill another animal
unnecessarily. All shades of the human
personality are seen in the various animals. It is
easy to laugh at the antics of Brocktree’s troops.
They may not always be kind as they scold and
scrap among themselves, but they learn from
Brocktree to work together and care about each
other. In Ungatt Trunn the dark side of man is
displayed. The animals’ dialogue is written as
they pronounce it. Each group has delightful
differences in language.
Fangorn drew the map at the beginning of the
book and also provided chapter illustrations.
The small sketches at the beginning of each
chapter faithfully depict the personalities of the
characters. The cover picture of Brocktree is
excellent.
Barbara A. Bryden, Freelance Writer, Olympia, Washington
Out of hiding, by Catherine Farnes.
LCCN 99088171. Greenville, S.C.:
Journey Books, Bob Jones University
Press, 2000. ISBN 1579243290, PAP,
$6.49.
F. Missionaries--Fiction; Christian life--Fiction;
Death--Fiction; Mexico--Fiction. 174 p. High school.
When Ashton volunteered to help build a church
in the Mexican jungle, she never dreamed the
team would be up against a drug smuggling ring.
As the team gathers in El Paso, Ashton is
horrified to discover that Judah Ewen and his
girlfriend, Rebekah, will be part of the group.
Judah, the son of Ashton’s former pastor, was
blamed for the drowning death of Ashton’s
brother. Although Ashton has tried to forget
what happened, she has not forgiven Judah.
As the group heads into the Mexican jungle,
many unresolved personal problems threaten the
success of the mission and the safety of the
team. Arriving at the village, they discover that
Dane Meyer, the pastor they came to help, is
missing. Ashton finds Meyer hiding from the
drug smugglers in the jungle. Hunger, rain, and
illness plague the group. As Ashton helps to
build the church and prays for Judah’s healing,
she learns how to forgive.
There are many ways to hide. Meyer hides in
the jungle to escape danger. Ashton tries to hide
from the pain of her brother’s death by refusing
to deal honestly with it. Others on the team are
hiding from other problems. Catherine Farnes
reveals what happens when we attempt to hide,
and shows how we can come out of hiding.
Fast-moving and exciting, Out of Hiding
illustrates the need for forgiveness without
lecturing. The author’s descriptions of hiking
uphill in the heat, of the team’s ministry to
people in the small Mexican villages, and of the
problems of being ill in a foreign country are
quite realistic. When they visit a tiny Catholic
Church, Judah refuses to stay in it, and Shane
says the statues are not “meant to just be art.”
The cover picture of the jungle village by Mary
Ann Lumm adds visual interest to this adventure
story.
Barbara A. Bryden, Freelance Writer, Olympia, Washington
Passage to Little Bighorn, by Terry
Kretzer Malvehy. LCCN 98049481.
Flagstaff, Ariz.: Rising Moon, Northland
Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0873587138, PAP,
$6.95.
F. Little Bighorn, Battle of the, Mont., 1876--Fiction;
Time travel--Fiction; Sitting Bull, 1834?-1890--
Fiction; Dakota Indians--Fiction; Indians of North
America--Plains--Fiction. 217 p. High school.
Passage To Little Bighorn tells the story of
Dakota, a modern Native American boy, swept
backwards through time to the Battle of the
Little Bighorn. Living for weeks among his
Lakota ancestors, Dakota learns of his proud
heritage directly from those ancestors, and from
the great Hunkpapa leader, Sitting Bull.
Passage tells the Native Americans’ side of the
famous battle, and of life during the 1870’s.
Intermixed with his reflections on life in the
past, Dakota has thoughts and visions of the
present and his troubled mother.
Dakota’s passage through time lands him near a
Hunkpapa camp, a few weeks before Little
Bighorn. Initially wounded and held captive,
Dakota eventually grows to be accepted and
valued by the Lakota. Along the way, he learns
of the history and culture of his people through
first-hand experience. After witnessing the
Battle of Little Bighorn, Dakota returns to the
present with a better understanding of himself
and his modern-day situation.
Author Terry Kretzer-Malvehy’s attempt to
blend history and fiction is not entirely
successful. Like Dakota, this book doesn’t quite
fit in. Passage includes several scenes of
graphic violence and at least one profane use of
God’s name. The text describes some of the
animist beliefs and practices of the Native
American people of the time, without any
comparison, or reference, to Christianity.
Although more readable than a history textbook,
Passage is less than an enjoyable novel. The
story simply does not recover from the rushed
and jarring way Dakota is hustled through one
hundred and fifty years of history. The reader
simply doesn’t have a chance to know or care
about Dakota. The book would have been
stronger had a more relevant and engaging
mechanism, or reasoning, for moving Dakota
been found or developed.
This book delivers the culture, history and
sensibilities of the Lakota People in a unique
way. The book’s substantial bibliography
proves the author did her homework. That said,
Passage fails to measure up to the readability of
books like Centennial or The Court Martial of
George Armstrong Custer. These books do a
much better job of delivering history and a good
story.
Kirk Hunt, Instructor, Pima County Community College, Business
& Industry Division, Tucson, Arizona
Queen’s own fool : a novel of Mary Queen
of Scots, by Jane Yolen and Robert J.
Harris. LCCN 99055070. New York:
Philomel Books, Penguin Putnam, 2000.
ISBN 0399233806, HBB, $19.99.
F. Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542-1587--Fiction;
Scotland--History--Mary Stuart, 1542-1567--Fiction;
Fools and jesters--Fiction; Kings, queens, rulers, etc.--
Fiction. 390 p. High school.
When young Nicola Ambruzzi, a traveling
troubadour, is saved from the cruelties of her
uncle by Queen Mary, wife of French King
Francis, her life takes a turn many young girls
would only dream of in fairytales. She becomes
Nicola, La Jardiniere, the Queen’s Own Fool,
whose job it is to be not only the queen’s
entertainer, but also her listening ear, and in a
sense her conscience. This fast-paced story
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