Remember, Remember [Paperback]

Sheldon Goldfarb's YA novel Remember, Remember opens with a charming scene: a class of Victorian-era school boys, one of them stumbling over a Latin conjugation, and their usually bearish teacher, Mr. Rawlins, so unwontedly distracted as not to have noticed that his pupil's recitation has trailed off before hitting the first person plural. Among the boys in the class squirming in discomfort is fourteen-year-old Aleister Lister Smith, a top student in the fourth form at Shrewsbury School. The reason for Mr. Rawlins's strange behavior soon becomes clear to Aleister when he overhears a conversation outside of his teacher's rooms: Rawlins's "impecunious brother-in-law," a Mr. Talbot, has shown up at the school with a crisis that threatens to bring scandal to the family. Meeting with no help from the imposing Rawlins, Talbot compounds his earlier transgressions--what landed him in trouble in the first place--by dragging Aleister back with him to Manchester on the off chance that the boy can be of some service. Thus Aleister's sheltered life is upended, and he becomes embroiled in an adventure that comes to involve spying, false arrest, private investigative work, and murder. Goldfarb's title is a reference to the children's rhyme about the would-be regicide Guy Fawkes--"Remember, remember the fifth of November..."--as actions central to the book's plot take place on that date.

Remember, Remember is a nicely written, quick read. It packs a compelling mystery and a pair of likeable teenaged protagonists: Talbot's daughter Kate flouts Victorian conventions by teaming up with Aleister to investigate the Guy Fawkes' Night murder; and Aleister himself, apt not to assert himself at the book's outset--indeed, arguably passive to a fault--is seen to grow in confidence as a result of the extraordinary events of his weeks in Manchester.

Any complaints I have about the book are minor: Aleister's dream sequences don't add anything, in my view, and he is too frequently described as tired: one begins to worry about his health. But these are minor quibbles. Goldfarb's target audience should certainly enjoy the book, but adults should consider it as well. It's a good read. I don't know whether the author intends to write a sequel to the story, but I for one would like to see a series of mysteries featuring Aleister as amateur sleuth. Surely the stately halls of Shrewsbury School are rife with crimes that need investigating?

Debra Hamel -- author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in ancient Greece (Yale University Press, 2003)

As the long summer vacation looms ahead, parents looking for good reading for their teenagers should consider Sheldon Goldfarb's new novel, "Remember, Remember." Set in Victorian England, readers will meet an engaging group of characters who inadvertently get caught up in the traditional antics of a Guy Fawkes Day celebration that lead to a challenging mystery. Apart from good entertainment for adolescents, they will painlessly learn something of English culture in the 19th century as well as find their curiosity piqued by references to the 17th century plot to destroy the houses of Parliament. They may go to the library or the nearest encyclopedia to learn more about Guy Fawkes! Good things to read is the perfect antidote for youngsters cut adrift from their school structure.