Westmark, Lloyd Alexander

It's back in print! This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS EVER from when I was 8, and upon re-reading, I think it says alot about who I grew up to be. You may know Alexander as the author of The Book of Three series. Those are a re-telling of Celtic myths with a King Arthur flare. This series is a retelling of -- I kid you not -- the French Revolution in an alternate Europe, not that anyone says that explicitly in the book, or that I realized it as a kid. Alexander was in my top three authors all through adolescence, because his books have kick-ass female characters and they don't talk down to kids. I'll give you an example. Our Hero, who is honest and serious and just trying to do the right thing, starts off by accidentally almost killing someone in a fit of anger. Later in the book, he admits to himself that he did it on purpose, feels awful, and promises himself it will never happen again. Then, because he's frozen with indecision, he can't fire a gun to save the life of a friend later on. It won't give much away to say that he has to decide whether to kill or save the bad guy in the end, and although it's predictable, when you're 8, it's also thought-provoking.

The language is great, too. Describing Our Hero: "As for Theo, he loved virtue, despised injustice, and was always slightly hungry. Apart from that, he was reasonably happy." When we meet the villain he is described as having "the virtue of diligence with an immense capacity for drudgery." You don't get vocabulary like that in most YA books.

The only place Westmark falls a little bit flat is with the romance. Theo and Mickle hang out together, he teaches her to read and she teaches him the sign language she uses for breaking and entering. Then he leaves -- it's complicated -- and when he finds her again a few months later she's furious with him for leaving. And then the story ends and they seem to be engaged, but without ever really having had a conversation. It's odd. I think as a kid I filled in a lot of the blanks myself.

There's another Alexander book that seems to still be out of print about a rich girl and her butler, who travel around the world solving crime Indiana Jones-style. When I find that one, expect the review to be in all caps.

Grade: B

Originally posted in 2006 -- The other Alexander books are definitely back in print now.