Publishers Weekly
An albino boy runs off to find comfort among the members of a circus troupe in post-WWII America. In a starred review, PW wrote, "This poignant adventure invites readers to look beyond others' outer appearances and into their souls." Ages 12-up. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Lawrence seamlessly shifts from the open sea (The Wreckers; The Smugglers) to landlubber territory with this tale of an albino boy who runs off to join the circus. Although the novel's premise may be familiar, there is nothing conventional about the author's portrayal of this taunted hero growing up in a post-WWII America. In lyrical prose, the narrative probes the isolation and alienation of 14-year-old Harold, better known as "Ghost Boy." As the novel opens, Harold awaits a train that does not stop (two years after the war, he still hopes his brother will be on it), when the Old Indian from Hunter and Green's Circus approaches him, posing as an exotic lure. With his father and brother both claimed by the war, his mother remarried to a banker, and the townspeople tormenting him because of his looks ("From the soles of his feet to the top of his head, his skin was like rich white chocolate, without a freckle anywhere"), Harold dreams of heading west. The circus provides his ticket out. Depicting the circus as a microcosm of society, Lawrence effectively conveys the universal desire for acceptance and approval. His knowledge of the big top and insight into humanity add depth to his writing as do vibrant images of circus life and razor-sharp characterizations (e.g., the tiny Princess Minikin, fur-covered Samuel the "Fossil Man" and the compassionate Gypsy Magda, a Holocaust survivor). This poignant adventure invites readers to look beyond others' outer appearances and into their souls. Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-This sequel to The Wreckers (1998) and The Smugglers (1999, both Delacorte) is another fast-paced, swashbuckling maritime adventure in the tradition of Robert Louis Stevenson, and another sure winner. John Spencer, now 17, is sailing aboard the schooner Dragon to Jamaica. Although his father has warned him of pirates and cannibals, John is hardly prepared for the harrowing series of events that seem to begin when the ship picks up a mysterious seaman adrift in a lifeboat. Is Horn a curse or a guardian angel? At points in the story, John is separated from his shipmates, stranded on an island, marooned on a ghost ship manned by corpses, and chased by sharks. The crew's bouts with malaria leave John in charge of sailing the ship back to London, even though he has little knowledge of navigation and a bent sextant. Lawrence brings the trilogy full circle, as the young man arrives at the Tombstones in Cornwall, where The Wreckers began. Vivid nautical details are expertly woven into a cliff-hanging narrative peopled by the most colorful of scurrilous scalawags. Lawrence's style is rich in imagery. He is particularly adept at evoking landscapes that nearly take on the stature of characters in the novel. This story will be gobbled up by readers of the first books in the trilogy; others will be drawn in by the great jacket painting of a pirate ship in the high seas. A sailor's yarn not to be missed.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Fourteen-year-old Harold Kline is an albino and thus an outcast in his small-minded community. Everyone in the town ridicules him, including his own stepfather. His father was killed in WWII; his older brother is missing in action. When a small traveling circus comes to town, Harold runs away from his unhappy life to join it. There, he meets an amazing cast of characters who offer him love and belonging: an Indian; a tiny Princess; the enormous Fossil Man; a gypsy, who has survived the Holocaust; and another albino. Among this unlikely group, Harold begins to find the friendship he has been longing for. He learns to work with the elephants and takes pride in his new skill. When he does return home, he is able to see his grieving mother and harsh stepfather in a new light and accept that his brother is truly gone. Lawrence has worked his magic with what could have been a commonplace story; his prose is near poetry, his characterizations, as usual, fascinating and unique. But, it is the ache of Harold's longing to be a part of something and the gift that these odd circus people offer that sets this coming-of-age road story apart from the average YA novel. In his earlier work (The Smugglers, 1999; The Wreckers, 1998), Lawrence's characters were colorful and well-defined; now they stand for looking beyond their picturesque or off-beat qualities and into the depths of their real beauty. Memorable in every way. (Fiction. YA)
From the Publisher
“This touching novel, [set a few years after World War II], will speak especially to readers who consider themselves different, flawed, or misunderstood.”
—School Library Journal, Starred