scholarly journals Brave Music of a Distant Drum by M. Herbstein

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Quirk
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
South African ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Slave Ship ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
The University ◽  
Important Purpose

Herbstein, Manu.  Brave Music of a Distant Drum. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press, 2011.  Print. This is a powerful and thought-provoking novel, which offers remarkable insights into one of the darkest chapters in human history.  South African author Manu Herbstein was awarded the 2002 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, and in Brave Music of a Distant Drum, Herbstein re-imagines Ama’s story for a younger, North American audience. The novel chronicles the meeting between an elderly woman at the end of her life and the son who does not remember or understand her.  It soon becomes clear that the divide which separates mother and son cannot be overcome until he listens to her story.  Kidnapped as a teenager by Bedagbam slave raiders, young Ama was traded several times by powerful slave owners in Africa before she found herself on a slave ship bound for South America.  Now elderly and blind, Ama needs her son to write her history down so that it will not be drowned “in the swamp of lost memories.” It is a heart-breaking story, but one that is filled with courageous acts of resistance and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of hope.  Following in the tradition of Alex Haley’s Roots (1976) and Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negros (2007), it is apparent that Ama’s son needs to understand his parents’ history before he can make sense of his own life in the present. This novel is recommended for young adults (16+), and this is an important guideline for two reasons.  First, readers who lack sufficient literary and historical knowledge will have trouble interpreting the clues that reveal that the novel is set in eighteenth-century Brazil.  More importantly, although the novel’s realistic depictions of horrific violence serve an important purpose, this violence is challenging for even a mature reader. Recommended: Four stars out of fourReviewer: Linda QuirkLinda is Assistant Special Collections Librarian at the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library at the University of Alberta.

Circle Nine by A. Hetzel

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mead-Willis
Keyword(s):  
English Literature ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Rare Book ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Literary Allusion ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

Heltzel, Anne. Circle Nine. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print. Why are hapless females in YA novels always named Abby? I don’t know, the amnesiac narrator of Circle Nine would reply. That’s just what it says on my necklace.  So begins Anne Heltzel’s debut thriller: a teenaged girl awakens on the pavement outside a burning building with no memories and no name, save the one she wears in gold around her neck. With her is a mysterious, charismatic youth named Sam, who claims to be her friend. Sam persuades Abby to retreat from the fire and into the woods, where they hide in the safety of his “cave-palace”: a glittering subterranean paradise full of shimmering fabrics and sumptuous furniture. There, the two of them sip pomegranate wine, discuss fine literature, and forswear all contact with the outside world, which Sam likens to an Aleghierian hell (hence the book’s title). We suspect this a fantasy, invented by Abby to protect herself from an uglier cave and an uglier Sam, to say nothing of the ugly events occluded by her smoke-kippered memory. The question is: whose fantasy is it? What sixteen-year-old with cheap bling on her neck would retreat into a happy place wrought with literary allusion, Platonic cave metaphors, and Oriental carpets? This is clearly the reverie of the author herself, still in love with her various muses. Abby’s fantasyland, though out of character, is not necessarily a detriment to the novel itself. Indeed, we could do without the predictable combination of flashbacks and sleuthing by which Abby reconstructs her true identity, and abide instead within her doomed and darkly luminous otherworld. For it is there that Heltzel’s storytelling is at its boldest, her writing most sensuous and wild, and it is here that the novel promises—if only briefly—to be something other than the dreary chestnut about a naïve girl brought low by bad luck and sly men.Recommended with reservations: 2 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sarah Mead-Willis Sarah is the Rare Book Cataloguer at the University of Alberta's Bruce Peel Special Collections Library. She holds a BA and an MLIS from the University of Alberta and an MA in English Literature from the University of Victoria.

scholarly journals Brave Music of a Distant Drum by M. Herbstein

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison Sivak
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Slave Trade ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Sexual Assaults ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Public ◽  
Slave Ship ◽  
Person Perspective ◽  
The University

Herbstein, Manu. Brave Music of a Distant Drum. Red Deer, AB: Red Deer Press. 2012. Print. A young African-American man, Zachariah Wiliams, comes to visit his mother, who has been enslaved all her adult life. He, too, is a slave, but views his Brazilian owners as benevolent Christians, who have taught him how to read and write, gave him some pay for his bookkeeping work, and have promised to set him free in the coming years. He is reticent to meet with his mother who has never converted to Christianity, and with whom he is not close; she calls him by the name Kwame Zumbi, and she is uninterested in his successes working for his owners. She has asked him to smuggle some paper from his office, for she is going to tell a story she wishes him to write down for his own daughter to read when she is older.Ama's story is brutal in a way that is familiar to many readers, but not predictable. She tells of a failed rebellion on the slave ship, the beatings and sexual assaults that were a part of her everyday life, and of her love for Tomba, Zacharias' father. She writes of her intimacy with the daughter of her owners, emphasizing the strangeness of a girl who attempts to treat Ama well as a slave, but who does not truly want Ama to have her freedom. Although Ama has some momentary victories against people involved in the slave trade, she is never ultimately free. The novel does not attempt to fulfill a reader's hope for Ama's emancipation, and in this way, is more realistic than some fictional narratives of slavery in the Americas; it also avoids 'containing' the issue of slavery by ending with an individual's escape. This makes for a difficult, but strong novel.This young adult novel is based on author Herbstein's earlier historical novel for adults, Ama: A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade. Herbstein has made an unusual move here, revising the original novel for a younger audience, and has made thoughtful choices in doing so. He has shortened the story significantly, skimming over much of Ama's experiences that take place between her kidnapping in her village, and her forced placement on a slave ship headed for Brazil. (He skillfully explains this change as the limited amount of paper that Zachariah been able to procure; Ama wishes to retain only the details of her brutal enslavement in Brazil.) Herbstein's use of shifting first-person perspective, alternating between Ama and Zacharias, efficiently conveys Ama's blunt telling with her son's change from disbelief to anger at the injustice she has endured—an injustice that implicates his Brazilian owners. Brave Music of a Distant Drum is a brutal, thoughtful, well-written book that would be excellent for teenage readers.Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Allison SivakAllison Sivak is the Public Services Librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Library and Information Studies and Elementary Education, focusing on how the aesthetics of information design influence young people’s trust in the credibility of information content.

scholarly journals Why We Broke Up by D. Handler

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Mead-Willis
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
New York ◽  
English Literature ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Rare Book ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Object A ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
Sexually Explicit ◽  
The University

Handler, Daniel. Why We Broke Up. Illus. Maira Kalman. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2011. Print. In 1975, Judy Blume published Forever, in which a girl meets a boy at a high school party, dates him, falls madly in love with him, sleeps with him, and then breaks up with him. The novel was the first of its kind— a frank and sexually explicit portrait of teen love, delivered by a modern, post-women’s-lib female narrator. And while the book scandalized some readers, it became a coming-of-age touchstone for others. (Indeed, this reviewer remembers getting a copy from her mother – a bit embarrassing, given all the sex that was in it – as a sort of warning of the pleasures and pains of incipient adulthood.) Fast forward thirty-five years to Daniel Handler’s Why We Broke Up, in which a girl meets a boy at a high school party, dates him, falls madly in love with him, sleeps with him, and then breaks up with him. Not quite the trailblazer of a story that it was in 1975, but a fascinating (and in many ways superior) revision of the doomed-teen-romance downer. Daniel Handler is, after all, known to most as Lemony Snicket, and readers may detect shades of Snicket in the sly wit and mordant humour that infuse this particular series of unfortunate events. But his improvements on Blume’s prototype do not stop at style. For one thing -- and this is a big thing -- Handler invents a far more interesting narrator to tell the tale. While Min Green encompasses the moods and caprices typical of the teen girl umwelt, she also displays repertoire of quirks unwedded to age or gender: an obsession with cult cinema, a wicked sense of humour, and a singular worldview disclosed to the reader in lyrical, synaesthetic morsels. (“Enormous as a shout” is how she first describes Ed Slaterton, her love interest.) Through Min’s voice, Handler creates something that is less a love story than a headlong plunge into the teenage psychic cosmos— that welter of sensory, emotional, and cultural bric-à-brac that young people accrue in their projects of self-creation. The book is cluttered with spurious allusions to movies that were never made, musicians who don’t exist, food and beverages not on offer anywhere outside the text. (Viper shots, anyone? How about a bottle of Scarpia’s Extra Bitter?) These are a clever device on the author’s part; instead of attempting to tap the vocabulary of teenage cool (and burden the novel with effortful hipness), Handler fabricates a pitch-perfect simulacrum. As befits a post-2000 story of young love, there is a visual counterpoint to Handler’s text. Each chapter begins with the image of an object -- a bottle cap, a comb, a pair of earrings – rendered in lush oil paint by artist Maira Kalman. All are mementos of Min’s and Ed’s relationship, and all are cast away as Min comes to grips its ruin. But just as love leaves a trace that cannot be easily expunged, so the images conjured by this novel will resonate, mournful and comic, long after the book is closed. Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sarah Mead-WillisSarah is the Rare Book Cataloguer at the University of Alberta's Bruce Peel Special Collections Library. She holds a BA and an MLIS from the University of Alberta and an MA in English Literature from the University of Victoria.

scholarly journals 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Dalmer
Keyword(s):  
Red Deer ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Northern Ghana ◽  
School Students ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
The University ◽  
Made In

Tools for Schools Africa Foundation. 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana. Red Deer, Alberta: Tools for Schools Africa Foundation, 2011. Print. Since 2003, Tools for Schools Africa Foundation has been working to increase educational opportunities in northern Ghana. A registered charity based out of Red Deer, Alberta, they have been working to advance the quality of life of those living in the northern regions of Ghana by improving access to post-primary education. One of their recent projects includes the publication of an ABC book for primary school students. 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana is an amazing piece of beautiful artistry; each letter colourfully depicting animals, activities, plants, traditions, history and other aspects of Ghanaian life. Each of the 26 letters is illustrated by a different artist, allowing readers to be introduced to a variety of artistic mediums, including oils, pastels, watercolours and pencil. The artistry from letter to letter is unique, featuring different uses of colour and technique, yet each image is consistently impressive. The accessible and well-written sentences that accompany each illustration introduce readers to Bolga baskets (grass baskets made in Bolgatanga), Kapok trees (used by people and farm animals for its shade), Oware (the national game of Ghana), and the Black Volta River (full of crocodiles) amongst many other interesting facts and features about this country. In addition to the few sentences used to explain the illustrations associated with each of the 26 letters, there is a detailed appendix with additional facts about the object or focus of each letter which could serve as a useful teaching tool for using this book in the classroom. The appendix also includes several additional photographs and paintings of Ghana. 9 Degrees North: The ABCs of North Ghana is highly recommended for elementary school libraries as well as public libraries. With its varied and vibrant illustrations, and with proceeds from the sale of this book supporting scholarships for girls in northern Ghana, this will also make an excellent addition to any reader’s collection. Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Nicole Dalmer Nicole Dalmer is a Public Services Librarian at H.T. Coutts Education & Physical Education Library at the University of Alberta. She is interested in health literacy, pinball, and finding the perfect cup of coffee to accompany a good read.

Seraphina by R. Hartman

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kymberly Sobchyshyn
Keyword(s):  
The Novel ◽  
Ancient History ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Non Fiction ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Multiple Species ◽  
The University ◽  
New Religion

Hartman, Rachel. Seraphina. Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2012. Print.Rachel Hartman’s debut novel, Seraphina, is a fantastical journey into a world where humans and shape shifting dragons live among each other. The novel follows Seraphina, a strong and intelligent female character with a talent for music, as she is caught between two races. Hartman has masterfully created a new religion, culture, language, political system, and multiple species in order to fully immerse the reader in Seraphina’s world.Hartman’s dragons, a unique breed of cold, unemotional mathematicians, are mostly intrigued and confused by what they consider to be overly emotional and artistic humans. The strong differences between the two races are cause for tension, but Seraphina has a mysterious gift of being able to understand how dragons think and why they react to humans in such curious and sometimes dangerous ways.Seraphina is a story of political unrest and adventure, with a little romance added in for good measure. Not only is the book a quick and entertaining read, but the glossary is not to be missed. That’s right, the glossary! Hartman created much of the foreign vocabulary in the novel, and the glossary is the place where her sense of humour and criticism of the world she has created really shine through. Some of the more challenging vocabulary in the novel is defined in the glossary so readers who might feel discouraged by the language should know that the author has invented most of these words. For a good laugh and some added detail about Seraphina’s world, the glossary is a great way to finish. Seraphina is the first in what Hartman has planned to be a series.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kymberly SobchyshynKymberly is currently in her second year of schooling to obtain a Master’s in Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. In her free time she enjoys traveling, ancient history, and reading of the fiction and non-fiction variety.

Polar Bear Morning by L. Thompson

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Desmarais
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Book History ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
English Literature ◽  
New York Times ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Special Collections ◽  
The University

Thompson, Lauren. Polar Bear Morning. Illus. Stephen Savage. New York: Scholastic Press, 2013. Print.Ten years ago, Lauren Thompson and Stephen Savage collaborated on “Polar Bear Night”, which was a splendid picture book that swiftly became a New York Times best seller. “Polar Bear Morning” follows up on the simple story of a polar bear cub that ventures out onto the arctic tundra for an adventure, but this time our favourite cub meets a new friend. The story begins when the cub emerges from her dark den, peeks out at the clear blue sky, and follows the sound of seagulls. Soon after heading out into the snow and ice, she notices something tumbling down a snow hill. It’s a snow cub! The moment when the cubs first meet is beautifully portrayed in a two-page spread that shows two furry faces in profile looking at each other without words on the pages, which perfectly captures a child’s speechless, wide-eyed bliss upon meeting a new friend.The story continues with several charming scenes that show how the friendship develops: they climb the snow hill and tumble down together; they sprint beside the sea; they race past seals, walruses and whales; they pause at the ice’s edge; and finally, they jump into the sea together. It’s a delightful portrayal of a budding friendship, with simple, yet charming illustrations rendered in a gentle palette of soft blues, greys, pinks, and browns. This picture book is a joy to read and has all the makings of a beloved classic, including frolicsome illustrations, thoughtful design, and a captivating story. It’s a wholly satisfying picture book that will be a pleasure to read again and again.Recommendation: 4 stars out of 4Reviewer: Robert DesmaraisRobert Desmarais is Head of Special Collections at the University of Alberta and Managing Editor of The Deakin Review of Children’s Literature. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Studies, with a Book History and Print Culture designation, he also has university degrees in English literature and publishing. He has been collecting and enjoying children’s books for as long as he can remember.

scholarly journals Tri-Creeks Experimental Watershed

2016 ◽  
Vol 92 (01) ◽  
pp. 53-56
Author(s):  
George Sterling ◽  
Amy Goodbrand ◽  
Sheena A. Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Forest Cover Change ◽  
Data Set ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Historic Data ◽  
The University

Tri-Creeks Experimental Watershed was initiated to compare the effects of logging and riparian buffers in three subbasins (Wampus, Deerlick, and Eunice Creeks) and to evaluate the effectiveness of timber harvesting ground rules in protecting fisheries and water resources. The watershed study was terminated in 1985 shortly after the harvest. In 2015, the University of Alberta re-established groundwater monitoring, hydrometric, and meteorological stations in Tri-Creeks Experimental watershed. Future research will utilize the 20-year historic data set and current data to study the the effect of forest cover change on the streamflow regime and fish populations. The objective of this paper is to summarize the novel results and available data from 1965–1987 for the Tri-Creeks Experimental Watershed.

scholarly journals The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen by S. Nielsen

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tami Oliphant
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
New Novel ◽  
Library And Information Studies ◽  
Information Studies ◽  
The University ◽  
Journal Entries

Nielsen, Susin. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2012. Print. Susin Nielsen is the acclaimed author of Word Nerd and Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mother. She has won several writing awards and has consistently created compelling, charismatic, and fully drawn characters. In her new novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, Nielsen explores dark and uncomfortable themes such as mental illness, bullying, violence, tolerating differences, and the quiet desperation felt by those who must refashion their lives after a tragedy. For readers concerned that the novel will break their heart, it does. And then it fills that broken heart with joy. Through his affecting journal entries, readers come to know 13-year-old Henry K. Larsen. His therapist recommends that he write about his thoughts and feelings in the aftermath of “IT”—hence the ‘reluctant’ diary. However, Henry’s diary entries are laugh out loud funny on one page and provoke tears on the next. Henry has an extraordinary voice that is unlike any other narrator. He is angry, confused, saddened, shamed, and lost after “IT” happened. He has moved with his father to Vancouver to try to piece together a new life but in reality, his family barely manages to make it through the day. Henry is leery of other people, pushes them away, and he cannot find a place for himself or make sense of his emotions after “IT.” The last thing that Henry anticipates is that he will open up to anyone about “IT”—not to his wonderful new friends Farley and Alberta, to his therapist, or to his two new neighbours. However, incidents at school and at home force Henry to talk about Jesse and the “IT” that changed everyone’s lives forever. The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen is a quick and deeply satisfying read. This book is required reading. Despite the darker themes, the emotional payoff is not only gratifying, but inspiring. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Tami OliphantTami Oliphant works as a research librarian at the University of Alberta Libraries and for the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta. She earned her Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Alberta and her doctorate from the University of Western Ontario. She has worked in academic libraries, public libraries, communications and planning, and as a sessional lecturer and researcher at the University of Alberta and the University of Western Ontario.

scholarly journals The Wolf’s Boy by S. Williams Beckhorn

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Reading Skills ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
Advanced Readers ◽  
Children’S Work ◽  
The University ◽  
The Village

Williams Beckhorn, Susan. The Wolf’s Boy. Disney-Hyperion, 2016.Shortly after he is born, Kai’s parents discover his clubfoot and decide to abandon him to a pack of nearby wolves. Rather than become a meal for the wolves, they care for him until his mother comes to reclaim him to a human upbringing. Yet still, Kai’s childhood in the human village is not exactly easy for someone whose foot is considered to have made him tabat (cursed). He is dogged by taunts from his peers, who call him “Wolfboy”, and reproaches from his father, who is quietly ashamed of his son’s perceived limitations. Banned from taking part in hunting, Kai toils doing children’s work and harbours a secret artistic streak. His loneliness is eventually placated when he adopts a local wolf club (Uff) but, eventually, their existence in the village becomes untenable and Kai sets out with Uff on a dangerous adventure of self-discovery. Along the way, they learn to hunt, meet a giant Ice Man and develop a friendship that is believed to be impossible between humans and wolves.The Wolf’s Boy is Beckhorn’s second foray into prehistoric children’s fiction, following her 2006 novel Wind Rider. Here, she fashions a fairly complex story for young readers, with liberal usage of the villagers’ fictitious language that is seemingly unsupported with definitions (until the reader stumbles across the book’s glossary of term definitions). These challenges, however, will reward advanced readers looking to hone their reading skills on more advanced prose. Beckhorn quickly departs from The Wolf Boy’s familiar Jungle Book beginnings to establish the novel as a memorable work in its own right, and she uses beautiful, descriptive language to tackle bullying, promote body diversity and even explore the ancient beginnings of humans’ fears of “otherness”.Given Beckhorn’s success at using a prehistoric setting to illustrate the depth and genesis of human relationships with animals, it’s almost surprising that authors have not mined this territory consistently before. With certain appeal for children interested in prehistory, dogs and survival stories, The Wolf’s Boy will reward strong readers.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kyle MarshallReviewer biography: Kyle Marshall is the Planning, Assessment & Research Analyst for Edmonton Public Library. He graduated with his MLIS from the University of Alberta in June 2015, and is passionate about diversity in children's and youth literature.

scholarly journals The Phar Lap Mystery by S. Masson

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Historical Novel ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The Novel ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Private Detective ◽  
State Library ◽  
The University ◽  
Difficult Times

Masson, Sophie.  The Phar Lap Mystery.  Sydney, Aust.:  Scholastic, 2010.  Print The end notes of this historical novel describe the details of the remarkable Australian racehorse, Phar Lap, who, in the difficult times of the Great Depression, gave Australians something positive to think about.  The cover image, from the collection of the State Library of Victoria, shows the big red horse in full stride, tail flying, jockey crouched behind his neck, reigns pulled tight. While the novel tracks alongside the historical story, it is a delightfully written account presented as a two-year diary of an eleven year-old girl.  Diarist, Sally Fielding, is very conscious of the fact that she is writing for posterity.  She begins her September 19, 1931 entry with “Hill Stakes Day, and the best day ever!  I want to write down absolutely everything, to remember it all.” Author, Sophie Masson, who has written more than fifty juvenile novels, gives the reader a good snapshot of life in the 1930’s in urban Eastern Australia.   From the “chooks” in the back yard, to the fancy hats of the well-to-do ladies at the Rosehill racecourse, to the seedy characters from the underbelly of the racing industry, Masson’s detailed descriptions help to draw us into Sally’s world.   Aussie slang is sprinkled throughout the book to add to the “down-under” flavour.  “Strewth”, which is a mild oath like “crikey” appears often.  Sally refers to a young man with whom she is not impressed, as a “real mick”, denies that she’s a “stickybeak” when she really has been snooping and has a “slap up” lunch, which is a very good one. The story stretches over two years beginning with Sally’s private detective father first being engaged to try to find out who took a shot at Phar Lap and ends with Sally and her father going to America when Phar Lap is taken there  to race.  Sally’s diary chronicles her reactions to the various dangerous twists and turns of the case, her father’s on-again, off-again romance, and Sally’s general chatter about friends and events around her.  The family’s economic struggles are ever-present.  Occasionally readers are treated to a facsimile of a real newspaper article or a letter, which is “glued” into the volume, reinforcing the illusion that you really are reading someone’s diary. Overall this is a thoroughly enjoyable read that captures your attention and holds it through to the surprising ending.  The Phar Lap Mystery will appeal to readers from pre-teens through adults and especially to readers who love horses. Highly recommended for junior high and high school libraries, as well as public libraries everywhere.Reviewer: Sandy CampbellHighly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsSandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

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