From School Library Journal
Grades 4-7-- Culca longs to dive like her brother Tulone,
but girls on her native island take care of the men. The divers are
essential to the survival of the village as the pearls and shells
they gather are used for trading. All is not well, however, as Spanish
conquistadors want only gold from the New World. When ships full of
it sink in a storm, the divers are taken to recover the treasure,
and Culca uses her nimble wits and unflagging bravery to save her
brother's life. Female roles and Spanish colonial exploitation of
land and people are the themes of this brief account. The dual role
of the church is shown through the contrast of a humble, sincere friar
and the ostentatious church of the bishop.. Chief recommendations
for the book are a simple vocabulary and sentence structure, single
plot line, and nondidactic tone. Culca comes through as a strong female
voice; issues are presented but are not belabored. An opening for
discussion of the Spanish in the New World. Realistic black-and-white
drawings appear in every chapter. --Gail Richmond, Point Loma High
School, San Diego |
From Booklist
Grades 7-10 – Although jocks don’t usually mix with
“burnouts,” Matt Thompson and Chris Walsh, who spends
most of his time hung over or in trouble, are still friends of a
sort. So when Chris invites Matt over for a beer blast, Matt and
a couple of his swim-team buddies – including popular Bobby
Stewart, nephew of a candidate for state governor – actually
show up. A tragedy ensues. Bobby, Chris, and two other passengers
in Chris’ car are killed in a drunk driving accident following
the party. The official version is accepted by most of the town:
loser Chris was responsible. But Matt has doubts… Strasser
weaves together a stern indictment of drunk driving, and serious
commentaries on race prejudice in local government and big money
influence on the larger political scene. Strasser portrays a tough
moral dilemma… A grade 5 reading level makes this suitable
also as high/low material.
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