Reviews
Books for Adolescents

James Blasingame

Bryan Gillis

Kyle Gillis

Patricia Jimenez

Vicki Lou Balant

Wendy Kelleher

In this issue we talk with Jeff Stone about his riveting martial arts/historical fiction series, The Five Ancestors. Martial arts enthusiasts Bryan Gillis and his son, Kyle, compare notes with Stone on the martial arts, as they interview him about the first book in the series, Tiger. Bryan and Kyle also give their takes on the novel and will continue to review all of the books in the five-book series as they are released. Be sure to catch their reviews of the first in the series on this page.

Gary Paulsen takes readers on a humorous adventure in time in a whodunit for younger teen readers called The Time Hackers, reviewed by James Blasingame. Paulsen's protagonist, Dorso Clayman, must discover and undo the harm of computer time hackers playing havoc with the Earth's timeline. Please welcome new reviewer Patricia Jimenez as she takes a look at Vivian Vande Velde's The Book of Mordred. It's a fantasy interpretation of the Arthurian legend, with all its characters, including the eponymous illegitimate son of Arthur who eventually lays low the Kingdom of Camelot and all it symbolized. Vicki Lou Balant reviews Seeing Emily, Joyce Lee Wong's story of Emily Wu, a high school sophomore working in her family's Chinese restaurant and trying to address the issues of growing up in two cultures. Veteran reviewer Wendy Kelleher takes a look at Pieces of Georgia, from Jen Bryant, a novel told in verse about a talented high school student who is becoming an artist while coping with the death of her mother. We hope you enjoy our reviews.

The Five Ancestors: Tiger

Reviewed by Bryan Gillis, Department of English, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA.

Cangzhen is a secret temple that houses Shaolin warrior monks who practice the various kung fu animal styles. As the story opens, the temple is under siege. Sixteen-year-old Ying, the eagle, had left the temple feeling betrayed by his master and has now returned with thousands of troops, provided by the emperor. He intends to kill all of his former brothers. He also wants the secret scrolls, which contain special kung fu moves that he feels he should have been allowed to see. The temple's Grandmaster, realizing that his monks have no chance of survival, helps his five youngest pupils escape. Each boy is a master of a different kung fu style—Tiger, Monkey, Crane, Dragon, and Snake—and each is told that he must seek his destiny. The boys do escape, each going in separate directions, but Fu, the tiger, decides that he must go back into the temple and save the secret scrolls.

Tiger is the first of five stories that follow each boy on a quest to find his destiny and purpose in life. Although the reader meets the other four brothers in this book, Tiger focuses on Fu. Near the end of the story, we learn a bit more about Malao, the monkey, and are told that the next book will follow his quest.

Tiger is an exciting ride. Jeff Stone, a veteran martial artist, has a real gift for describing action. He takes on a difficult subject, kung fu, and paints clear and exciting pictures of the battle scenes. It felt as though I was watching a Bruce Lee movie in slow motion. Twelve-year-old Fu has trained his entire life, and although his physical skills are remarkable, Stone has not created a superman. Fu is still young, and a tiger, which causes him to be impetuous. He is always making rash decisions that get him into trouble. Fu does learn from his mistakes, slowly, and it's fun to watch as he tries to reconcile his amazing physical abilities with his less than fully developed sense of righteousness. The strength of the story lies in its creation of characters that are neither black nor white but interesting shades of gray. Fu is a flawed hero, and Ying, whose actions would lead us to believe otherwise, may not be all bad. Throughout the story, readers constantly will be forced to reassess their opinions of characters.

The story takes place in 17th-century China, and because it's centered on warriors, there is a fair amount of violence. At least two of the descriptions of killings, one involving an animal, may be too graphic for kids under 10. It is, however, a great example of a high-interest, low-readability book. Fourth graders should have no problem following the story, and junior high and even some high school boys will love it.

Reviewed by Kyle Gillis, Catalina Ventura School, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

The first book in The Five Ancestors series, Tiger, begins at the Cangzhen Temple in the year 1650. The temple is under attack, and the Grandmaster commands his five youngest students to hide while the fighting is taking place. After their hiding place is discovered, the Grandmaster tells them to split up and run. Fu decides not to follow directions. He stays in the temple to try and recover the secret dragon scrolls so that the attackers won't get them.