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Newton, Robert
4 Reviews
(4)
YA
In the 1919 Melbourne, Australia, slums, fleet-footed fifteen-year-old Charlie Feehan is hired to run errands for a notorious mobster. When a friend gets hurt, Charlie quits to enter a prestigious one-mile race. This promising first novel features a strong, distinct voice, a vivid setting, and almost too much incident. The gritty, absorbing realism devolves into over-the-top sentiment by the end. Glos.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
(4)
YA
Short vignettes capture encounters from Peck's life. While some are delightfully well paced, others are too loaded down with description and awkward phrasings to be enjoyable. Stories of important figures in Peck's earlier life tend to be overly poetic; tales from encounters as a young man and beyond ring with more authenticity.
Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang
(4)
YA
Raised under the iron fist of his cold father and his tough older brother, sixteen-year-old Titus participates in his first cattle drive in 1924 Florida. Tragic events and the vague vision of a ghost cowboy help Titus summon forth reserves of strength and resilience. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed; others will find the story overwhelmed by unconvincing dialogue and excessive macho sentimentality.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
(4)
YA
Yoolee Tharp has always protected his younger sister from their abusive, predatory father, but in the summer of 1931 the entire family is threatened by a wild boar terrorizing the Everglades. An elderly Calusa Indian provides needed assistance when the boar finally attacks. The novel has moments of drama but is hampered by uneven pacing, broad characterizations, and an overuse of "colorful" colloquial backwoods language.
Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta
4 reviews
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