Theodore Taylor Reviews

Page Two

Added January 25, 2008

Sniper

Author: Theodore Taylor
Publisher: Harcourt Books, Inc.
Available At: Bookstores everywhere
Publishing Date: Available now
Genre: Young Adult: Contemporary/Suspense
Format: Trade Paperback
Price: $6.95
ISBN-10:
ISBN-13: 978-0-15-206153-1
Author Email/Website:
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Sniper discharges a salvo of surprises and serious situations.

Fourteen-year-old Ben Jepson lives with his family at their private zoological research center, which specializes in big cat study. Their wildlife preserve is home to lions, tigers and cougars and has been a source of controversy among their neighbors in this sparsely populated area. When Ben's parents take a trip to Africa in an effort to stop poachers, he was put in charge of the animals until their return. Everything would have been all right, except that a crazed sniper started to kill the cats with a high-powered rifle aimed at their hearts. Ben's anguish and anger give him the determination to track the shooter with a skill born of survival.

Theodore Taylor was a master storyteller and all of his books are exceptional. Yet, Sniper is truly one of my favorites. The setting is extraordinary; what teenager wouldn't want to live in a big cat preserve? Each of the lions, tigers and cougars are sketched with enough details to make their lives personal and their deaths painful. Set amidst this suspense and danger are lessons on responsibility, acceptance and accountability. As Ben lives in the shadows of his successful parents-his father is respected scientist and his mother a jet-setting photographer-he struggles to find his own talents. Being left in charge of the preserve allowed him the time and space to make intelligent decisions. His cleverness and commitment to the task his parents left him displayed his leadership abilities as well as his tenacity.

But Ben doesn't come across as a superhero, which is why this character resonates with reality. Through his fear and a couple bad decisions, he struggles to do what is right. The last page leaves readers with a young man who has found his place in a world that has no winners or losers-just survivors of the fittest.

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Added October 19, 2006

Billy the Kid

Author: Theodore Taylor
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc
Available At: Bookstores everywhere
Publishing Date: August 2006
Genre: Middle Reader: Adventure/Historical/Western
Format: Trade paper
Price: $6.95
ISBN: 0-15-205651-3
Author Email/Website: www.theodoretaylor.com/index.htm
Reviewer: Joyce Handzo
Rating: 9 Gargoyles

Billy the Kid rides again, thanks to the research and imagination of author Theodore Taylor. In this action-packed book, readers get a glimpse of this famous gunslinger, whose short life seemed even quicker than his draw. Fictionalized, yet faithful to the few facts surrounding this legendary troublemaker, these pages quiver with excitement.

William H. Bonney Jr., "Billy the Kid", was still a young teenager when his parents died, forcing him to survive by his wits and hard work. However, he quickly realized that his trigger finger offered him an easier life than backbreaking labor. After being recognized during a train heist, Billy was forced to flee as a posse hunted him down. When he is finally backed into a corner, he confronts both the lawmen and his enemies in an explosive encounter.

The author has sketched the life of this legend with bold and imaginative strokes, showcasing his expertise with a gun and revealing the quick thinking that went along with that skill. Although Billy was a foe to most folk, he was also a friend to a select few, and the story touches on that softer side. Readers will wonder if the downward spiral of this young man could have been stopped if he had taken the advice of his close acquaintances. Sadly, a series of decisions put him on a path that seemed to lead him farther away from his loved ones and closer to those who wanted him dead.

The setting was rich with realistic details, and the smell of gunpowder and dust seemed to waft up from the pages. Through the dialogue and actions of the characters, the system of justice was described, offering a look at the law and those who vowed to uphold it. For those readers who want to know a little more about the real legendary gunslinger, the author includes a brief biography of his short and all too violent life.

Although this book presented a fictionalized Billy the Kid, the story was a brisk gallop into an exciting adventure.

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This page was last updated on February 11, 2008

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