Black Duck
Janet Taylor Lisle
Puffin (September 6, 2007)
SPOILER ALERT: The following review contains plot points that you may not want to know about before reading the book.
In short: An exciting tale based on an actual incident. Raises a question that begs for discussion, “Is it ever right to tell a lie?”
Using an historical incident (in the days of prohibition a boat off the coast of New England, the “Black Duck”, lost part of its crew after an altercation with the Coast Guard) as a starting point, Janet Taylor Lisle, weaves an adventure story using David, an aspiring 14 year old journalist, as a catalyst to tell the story. David interviews his older neighbor, Ruben, who, rumor has it, may have been involved in the infamous “Black Duck” altercation.
As Ruben, reluctantly at first, tells his story we get a multi-layered mystery that begins with the discovery of a dead body by Ruben and his friend, Jeddy, and leads to lessons in loyalty and betrayal.
Ruben and Jeddy learn the difficulties of being honest when up against town heroes who are lawbreakers, rumrunners, and squatters, while the ones paid to uphold the laws, the police, turn out to be, at least partially, the villains.
“Meanwhile, the old man disappeared inside his shack to heat up a pot of water to cook the blue crabs he’d caught. That was how he ate, never mind what time it was. Schedules the rest of us followed – like breakfast, lunch and dinner, night and day, had lost their pull on him. He was living free of all rules, even the most basic.
I was watching him like a hawk, I’ve got to say. I’d been under a heavy regime of right and wrong, good ways and bad ways, ever since I could remember, and to see one-eyed Tom out from under, cracking blue crabs at ten o’clock in the morning and falling asleep without even getting up from the table, was a sort of revelation to me.”
There is a lot of dishonesty going on here: David lies, at first, to get his interview; the boys lie, and skip school, to protect themselves, and others; the police lie to protect their interests; and the Coast Guard lies, to cover-up. Even the historical analysis is not completely accurate:
“The violence that came from keeping liquor out of people’s hands was a lot worse than the violence of people drinking to their hearts content.”
This coming of age story is fast and gripping and shows the importance of standing by your convictions. It raises questions about honesty and following the law and portrays a convincing and touching friendship between two boys.
Janet Taylor Lisle
Puffin (September 6, 2007)
SPOILER ALERT: The following review contains plot points that you may not want to know about before reading the book.
In short: An exciting tale based on an actual incident. Raises a question that begs for discussion, “Is it ever right to tell a lie?”
Using an historical incident (in the days of prohibition a boat off the coast of New England, the “Black Duck”, lost part of its crew after an altercation with the Coast Guard) as a starting point, Janet Taylor Lisle, weaves an adventure story using David, an aspiring 14 year old journalist, as a catalyst to tell the story. David interviews his older neighbor, Ruben, who, rumor has it, may have been involved in the infamous “Black Duck” altercation.
As Ruben, reluctantly at first, tells his story we get a multi-layered mystery that begins with the discovery of a dead body by Ruben and his friend, Jeddy, and leads to lessons in loyalty and betrayal.
Ruben and Jeddy learn the difficulties of being honest when up against town heroes who are lawbreakers, rumrunners, and squatters, while the ones paid to uphold the laws, the police, turn out to be, at least partially, the villains.
“Meanwhile, the old man disappeared inside his shack to heat up a pot of water to cook the blue crabs he’d caught. That was how he ate, never mind what time it was. Schedules the rest of us followed – like breakfast, lunch and dinner, night and day, had lost their pull on him. He was living free of all rules, even the most basic.
I was watching him like a hawk, I’ve got to say. I’d been under a heavy regime of right and wrong, good ways and bad ways, ever since I could remember, and to see one-eyed Tom out from under, cracking blue crabs at ten o’clock in the morning and falling asleep without even getting up from the table, was a sort of revelation to me.”
There is a lot of dishonesty going on here: David lies, at first, to get his interview; the boys lie, and skip school, to protect themselves, and others; the police lie to protect their interests; and the Coast Guard lies, to cover-up. Even the historical analysis is not completely accurate:
“The violence that came from keeping liquor out of people’s hands was a lot worse than the violence of people drinking to their hearts content.”
This coming of age story is fast and gripping and shows the importance of standing by your convictions. It raises questions about honesty and following the law and portrays a convincing and touching friendship between two boys.
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