From Publishers Weekly
At the start of "One for Sorrow," the opening half of British author Woodall's savage first novel, Birddom's very existence is threatened. Magpies, under the dictatorship of the treacherous Slyekin, have ruthlessly wiped out many bird species. A wise old owl, Tomar, asks plucky young Kirrick—evidently the sole robin to survive the holocaust—to undertake three dangerous journeys in order to enlist the aid of feathered allies. Kirrick proves that one brave little bird can make a big difference against "planned systematic genocide." The second section, "Two for Joy," allows Kirrick's mate, Portia, to prove her mettle. Contrary to the hype in the U.K. press, this avian fantasy lacks the depth of that modern animal classic,
Watership Down. Nor, with its scenes of defecation, disembowelment and magpie rape, does it have much in common with
The Lord of the Rings. Even the good birds execute summarily and employ mass murder. Still, given the compelling plot of "One for Sorrow" in particular, one can understand why Disney has optioned the novel "in a million-dollar deal." It should make a wonderful Disney feature-length cartoon, suitably sanitized.
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From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–Although this recording of Clive Woodall's debut novel (Ace, 2005) is sure to invite comparison with
Watership Down, the resemblance is superficial at best. Tomar, a wise owl, asks Kirrick, a brave young robin, to undertake several daunting journeys to help forge an alliance between the raptors and seabirds of Birddom against their common enemies, the evil magpies and crows, who are systematically eliminating all the small birds in the land. Kirrick's adventures are buffeted by the wings of Traska, a magpie bent on glory and destruction. The language here is sophisticated, alternately entrancing and pretentious. Narrator Ray Lonnen gives each bird a distinctive voice, and changes accents ably as journeys are made from south (England) to north (Scotland), across to the Isle of Storms (Ireland) and over into Wingland (France). The characters are almost completely anthropomorphized: drawn in morally unambiguous black and white, they lie, plot, laugh, and cry. The adventure is thrilling and gory, with extended scenes of terror–wings and legs being broken, eyes being lost–not to mention a brutal rape, which although not graphically depicted, is a strong impetus for several characters' development. A thinly veiled underlying ecological message about man's encroachment on the environment and nature setting things right provides a convenient forest fire
deus ex machina. North American listeners should be aware that robins' eggs in Great Britain are reddish brown instead of blue, and American robins are a different bird from the English species. For older teens who are interested in epic fantasy and not turned off by blood.–
Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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