From Publishers Weekly
It is no small feat replicating the narrative style, character types and intricate plotting of a 19th-century serial novel, but Avi continues to accomplish the task with panache in Book Two of his ongoing saga about a family of poor Irish immigrants and the runaway son of an English lord. Just as good as its predecessor, The Escape from Home (Children's Forecasts, Apr. 1), this story begins where that book left off. Siblings Patrick and Maura O'Connell, aboard the Robert Peel on their way to meet their father in the U.S., are sharing cramped quarters with hundreds of other travelers. Lord Laurence Kirkle, robbed of his fortune, is a stowaway, while his two enemies, Mr. Clemspool and Mr. Grout, enjoy the comforts of first class accommodation. The stew of trouble that begins to simmer on ship comes to full boil when Patrick, Maura and Laurence finally set foot on land and discover just what kind of opportunity awaits them in America. Poverty, wretched working conditions, anti-Irish sentiments and news of Mr. O'Connell's death are only a few of the obstacles crossing the youngsters' paths. The future holds some promise for the characters by the time this book ends, but plenty of loose ends remain to whet appetites for another installment. Adventure lovers should not be intimidated by the thickness of this volume. Its short chapters full of clever narrative hooks and fast-paced adventure will keep most readers on the edge of their seats. Ages 11-14.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9?This sequel to Beyond the Western Sea: Book One (Orchard, 1996) continues the adventures of Patrick and Maura O'Connell and their friends Mr. Horatio Drabble and Laurence Kirkle as they sail to America. This book begins with the four on-board ship, with Laurence a stowaway and Maura, Patrick, and Mr. Drabble traveling in steerage. True to its Dickensian flavor, the villains are also on board. On arrival in Boston, all end up in the mill city of Lowell, MA. Patrick and Maura's father has died and the children find themselves facing anti-Irish sentiment, a greedy mill owner, poverty, inhuman working conditions, and, of course, all the villains. The action jumps back and forth from one person to another as their paths cross and recross. All characters "coincidentally" come together at the climax and the villains are vanquished. This is a well-written, but overly ambitious work that suffers from an overabundance of characters. The lack of a major hero and a primary villain fragments the work. Character development is minimal and the many different plots stop and start so often that the focus is lost. Avi's ability to use words and dialogue to develop a strong sense of time and place is evident and his theme that all people are created equal and that evil cannot be blamed on anything but evil individuals is strongly and clearly presented. For that reader who enjoys a well-written historical novel and who will not be deterred by the two-volume length or the complexity of the plots, this will satisfy if not excite.?Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
