Jacob's Ladder

by Brian Keaney

Overview

"Simultaneously poignant and puzzling. . . . The climax elegantly answers all questions, making this ghost story more satisfying than most." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Jacob awakens inexplicably in a gray, grim place called Locus, where people his age live in dormitories, wear identical gray uniforms, and eat spongy, tasteless food. Even worse than the dreary conditions is his realization that others have accepted this fate — something Jacob vows not to do. Setting out with two companions on a perilous journey, Jacob slowly unravels the horrifying truth about the people of Locus. As they journey through fear toward hope, they must choose between a past they cannot remember and a future they cannot predict.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763630713
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/13/2007
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.99(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Brian Keaney says, "I have always known there is a world that lies just beyond the borders of this one, and one day I woke up with the feeling that I wanted to explore that other place, to find the stories that are waiting in the darkness." He lives in London.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 6-10-This intriguing novel starts like science fiction, but ends as something entirely different. Jacob wakes up in an empty field with no memories other than his name. An unsmiling, uninformative man calling himself Virgil takes him across a river to the dreary, modern city of Locus, where most of the inhabitants are teens about Jacob's age. There he tries to find a way back to his barely remembered home while resisting Locus's standard-issue gray uniforms, tasteless food, and mind-numbing labor clearing fields of stones. He befriends Aysha, a girl who still retains some spark of life, and the two, along with Jacob's roommate, set out across the stone fields in search of the fabled Palace of Remembrance, where everything lost can be returned. While teachers may appreciate the author's allusions to Roman and Celtic mythology, the Bible, the Divine Comedy, and possibly The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, teens will be pulled in by the appealing characters and the book's structure. The initial mystery of Locus, the ongoing mystery of the teenagers' pasts, and Jacob's harrowing escape when he is separated from his friends and almost entombed in a cave by a madman make for an engrossing story. An accessible, discussable read, and a good choice for struggling and proficient readers alike.-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This adventure starts off strong but dwindles to didactic metaphor. When Jacob wakes in a field, he has no idea where he is or why he's there. All he remembers is that his name is Jacob, and he wants to be back with his...what were those people called who took care of him, again? Oh, right, parents. Instead, he's in a flavorless, gray place called Locus, surrounded by hundreds of other boys and girls who can't remember where they come from. Together, the children wear gray uniforms, eat gray and spongy food, live in gray dormitories and spend all day moving rocks from one field to another. Most of the children have accepted their fates, but not Jacob. Along with two friends, he determines to escape. Sadly, it's here that the intriguing tale breaks down into an oversimplified Pilgrim's Progress. The children encounter a series of lessons delivered by biblically and mythically named characters, all with the goal of teaching them to place a higher value on life. Read The Giver instead. (Fantasy. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews