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Aleutian Islands
3 Reviews
(4)
4-6
Set on a remote Aleutian island during World War II, this survival story is slow to start but eventually picks up speed. The unusual setting and the two main characters, resourceful eleven-year-old Izzy and disaffected fourteen-year-old Matt, help make the narrative compelling. The two endure cold, hunger, fear, and injury, finding strength in their friendship.
Reviewer: Cyrisse Jaffee
(4)
4-6
Attempting to create a diversion from their 1942 attack on Midway, the Japanese forces invaded the Aleutian Islands, occupying two islands and taking prisoners back to Japan. The facts of the story are undeniably gripping, and Seiple retells individual incidents with immediacy, but the structure of the narrative is disjointed and hard to follow. Extensive source notes are appended. Ind.
Reviewer: Roger Sutton
(4)
4-6
Despite some deftly written entries, Hesse's third free-verse novel doesn't provide a clear picture of either the young narrator (Vera, who's half-Aleutian, half-white) or the book's historical events (the relocation of hundreds of Aleuts during World War II). Some of the poems are quite graceful, conveying much in just a few lines, but in general, the format doesn't serve the author well.
Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 2004
3 reviews
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