bn.com
The Barnes & Noble Review
Award-winning author David Almond does not disappoint eager audiences with this tale of family, survival, and the thin line between reality and dreams.
In the dreary orphanage of Whitegates, three friends long for freedom and purpose. Sadly labeled as damaged goods, these kids hold their memories close to their hearts and ignore the tired and world-weary gazes of Maureen, who runs the orphanage. Erin and her friend January run away on occasion, but they are usually caught within a couple of days or return due to lack of money and a place to sleep. Their latest journey, however, is unlike any other. They plan to make a raft and escape down the river. After Mouse, a small, shy boy whose name reflects the pint-size pet he carries in his pocket, begs to be included on their voyage, the three are off to the river. When they end up not far from Whitegates but in a seemingly different world on the muddy bank of Black Middens, they meet an unusual girl with webbed hands and an unavoidable stare. She calls herself Heaven's Eyes, and her primitive language and ethereal beauty intrigue the trio. Living in abandoned offices under the care of an old man she calls Grandpa, Heaven's Eyes soon reveals details of the life she leads. Then Erin and her friends also unearth the real truth of Heaven's past.
Almond ties this moving and surreal story together with the overwhelming desire to love, have family and enjoy freedom. Dreams and reality coincide, and Erin speaks to the reader in a way that reinforces the truthfulness of what she says. The real magic lies in Almond's fantastic ability to relate a story of wonder and sorrow to young readers with grace and strength. The details of an enlightening mystery need not be filled with facts and answers. For many, the excitement and life lessons are found within the journey. (Amy Barkat)
Enicia Fisher
As a storyteller's fire captures its audience, David Almond's latest novel draws the reader through darkness into irresistible light. Heaven Eyes, the third novel for young people by this highly acclaimed author, offers what Almond fans anticipate: a wonderful mixture of mystery, fantasy, dreams, and reality.
The story begins at Whitegates, a three-storied place with a garden paved over in concrete and a metal fence around it. Erin and January constantly run away from the orphanage in search of adventure and freedomfreedom from their disappointed caretaker, psychiatrists, social workers, and from the Life Story books they create from scraps of memory, fact, and imagination.
January, the boy named for the wintry night his mother left her day-old baby on the doorstep of a hospital, rigs a runaway raft out of two doors and some paneling. Erin Law, one of the few children with a real name and real memories of the time before Whitegates, brings her treasure box and a few photos. As they sneak away, Mouse, whose father tattooed on his arm, "please look after me," insists on coming along.
The runaways don't get very far, but where they disembark might as well be another world. After escaping from the thick mud of the Black Middens, they encounter Heaven Eyes, a strange luminescent girl with webbed fingers and toes. She leads them to an abandoned printing warehouse, where she lives with a mysterious old man.
The kids discover that the most extraordinary things existed in our ordinary world and just waited for us to find them. Almond's vivid and original storytelling creates a very real sense of wonder.
csmonitor.com
Publishers Weekly
Three orphan children residing at Whitegate set out on an adventure-cum-rescue mission and discover a ghostlike girl with webbed hands. "The tantalizing settings and poetic narrative have a lingering effect, much like a prophetic dream," said PW in a starred review. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Readers spellbound by the intriguing characters and surrealistic flavor of Almond's previous works will be eager to dive into the murky waters of this third novel, set in a riverside orphanage. Erin Law, one of the "damaged" orphan children residing at Whitegates, eloquently recounts her earliest happy memories of her mother and the way the woman's voice and touch have remained with her. One day, Erin sets out on a remarkable adventure-cum-rescue mission, with fellow orphan friends January and Mouse on a homemade raft. ("Some people will tell you that none of these things happened. They'll say they were just a dream that the three of us shared.") Their vessel gets stuck in the mire on the Black Middens, a muddy sinkhole of a place every bit as haunting and surreal as the hideout in Skellig or the abandoned mines of Kit's Wilderness. The children discover two strangers who live alongside the Middens in a dilapidated settlement: Heaven Eyes, a ghostlike girl with webbed hands (so named because "her lovely eyes... saw through all the trouble in the world to the heaven that lies beneath"), and "Grampa," her ancient caretaker. Here the children slowly unravel mysteries about the crumbling town, its muddy banks holding many treasures and the tragic history of Heaven Eyes. Possessing a rare understanding of human frailties, impulses, desires and fears, the author boldly explores the gray area between reality and imagination, and the need to construct one's own legends in order to survive. His tantalizing settings and poetic narrative have a lingering effect, much like a prophetic dream. Ages 9-12. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-Welcome to the surreal world of David Almond and his haunting novel (Delacorte, 2001) about three orphans who run away from Whitegates, a home for "damaged" children. Fleeing down the Ouseburn River on a homemade raft fashioned from old doors, Erin Law, January Carr, and Mouse Gulane land on the Black Middens, a mud bank not far from where they began their journey. There they find Heaven Eyes, a strange girl with webbed feet and hands, who speaks pidgin English and lives in a derelict building with her mysterious and somewhat menacing caretaker named Grandpa. He and Heaven Eyes show Erin and her friends how to dig in the black mud, for "there is secrets and there is treasures and there is saints waiting to be found." The three runaways are captivated by Heaven Eyes, whose childlike innocence is a novelty. In his third children's book, Almond has written a tale as dark and deep as the river flowing through it. The narration by actress Amanda Plummer is a double treat. Her pacing is carefully measured to perfection, and the story is delivered in a soothing brogue. Those comfortable with ambiguous settings, ethereal characters, powerful themes, and strong imagery will be delighted.-Celeste Steward, Contra Costa County Library, Clayton, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
From the Publisher
"Almond's fans will willingly follow him on yet another journey into a surreal, murkey world that may be dream or reality." - Kirkus Reviews