Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
Bunting I Have an Olive Tree; Smoky Night crafts an ethics-centered novel that will long flicker in readers' memories. Brodie's plans to go camping with his best friend on the nearby banks of the furious Blackwater River are foiled when his younger cousin, Alex, comes to spend the summer. To top it off, Alex also wrecks 13-year-old Brodie's highly anticipated plans to take his classmate and crush, Pauline, to the movies. One morning, Brodie decides to teach Alex how to swim in a protected area of the Blackwater, and the two spy Pauline cozying up to an older boy on a rock in the middle of the river. Bunting's cunning description of the tragic incident that follows leaves just enough room for readers' to interpret the events. Should Brodie be elevated to hero status, shunned as a villain, or somewhere in between? And Alex, with his proclivity for fibbing, devises a cover-up that further obscures the truth. But it soon becomes evident that someone else witnessed what happened in the Blackwater River. Smoothly shifting between dialogue and his inner thoughts, Brodie's affecting, first-person narrative makes the boy's nightmarish struggle with his conscience chillingly credible. Bunting's thought-provoking theme, solid characterization and skillful juggling of suspense and pathos make this a top-notch choice for both boys and girls. Ages 10-up. Sept. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
- Kathleen Karr
Brodie Lynch, a thirteen-year-old preacher's son, begins his summer by playing a practical joke on the girl of his dreams and her boyfriend. The results are so tragic that he succumbs to his disliked cousin Alex's interpretation of them to the police--a lie that makes Brodie a hero. Now Brodie must live with his lie that destroys the reputation of another. He's torn between Alex--the devil's advocate--his upbringing, and the Batgirl Hannah's sound advice. Bunting's moralistic novella is terse and to the point, though her picture of the inter-relationships in a small town is nicely drawn.
KLIATT
To quote KLIATT's July 1999 review of the hardcover edition: Brodie, age 13, is annoyed when his troubled twelve-year-old cousin Alex comes to stay with his family for the summer. For one thing, Brodie had planned to take pretty Pauline to the movies, and now Alex is tagging along everywhere. Brodie lives in Rivertown, in Sonoma County, California, alongside the powerful Blackwater River, and he decides to teach Alex to swim. When they arrive at the swimming hole, however, Brodie spots Pauline with another boy, Otis. Filled with jealousy, Brodie plays a prank on Pauline that goes tragically wrong. Pauline and Otis tumble into the river's swift current and are swept downstream. Despite Brodie's best efforts, Pauline drowns and Otis is missing. Alex tells everyone that Brodie behaved heroically, without mentioning the prank, but Brodie knows what really happened—and so does someone else, it turns out, as clues are left on his doorstep. Will he have the courage to confess the truth? This suspenseful, fast-moving tale conveys Brodie's shame and confusion well, exploring his moral dilemma thoroughly. Brodie is tempted to blame his sleazy cousin for the fix he's in, but he eventually realizes that he must take responsibility. A friend helps him with that realization, and his parents are extraordinarily supportive. A good choice for reluctant readers, and a good novel for discussion, too. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 1999, HarperTrophy, 146p, 20cm, 99-24895, $4.95. Ages 13 to 15. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick; November 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 6)
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-"TELL." When 13-year-old Brodie reads the note, he realizes that someone knows his terrible secret. He didn't intend for anything bad to happen; he'd only planned to teach his pesky cousin Alex how to swim. But when the two arrive at the swimming hole, a dammed-up part of the dangerous Blackwater River, they find Pauline and Otis already there, sunning on a large rock. Brodie has a crush on Pauline and is jealous of the older boy. He quietly swims over to the rock and starts to pull her into the water. Otis pulls back and the screaming girl is stuck in the middle like a wishbone. When Brodie lets go, the other two teenagers fall backward into the swiftly rushing river. He jumps in the water to try to save them, but the current is too strong and he must be rescued. Pauline and Otis drown and Brodie is hailed a hero, especially when Alex tells his own trumped-up version of the story. Brodie means to be honest, but because of his injuries and the reactions of others, he finds he cannot tell the real story. How long-and how safely-can he keep his secret? Similar in plot to Marion Dane Bauer's On My Honor (Clarion, 1986), Bunting's more complex novel is an exciting blend of physical and psychological action and conflict as Brodie is caught in a web of deceit, as guilt and fear overcome his desire to tell the truth. The novel also focuses on friendship, family, and forgiveness as Brodie's friend Hannah helps him admit his responsibility in the accident. An engrossing tale with likable, realistic characters.-Janet Hilbun, formerly at Sam Houston Middle School, Garland, TX Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
In an unusually weak story from the prolific Bunting, a teenager wavers between staying silent and confessing his responsibility for a half-serious prank that results in two deaths. Offended at finding a girl on whom he had pinned some summer dreams making out with another boy, Brodie sneaks up to startle them, then watches in horror as they fall into the river and are swept away. His desperate effort to save them makes him an instant local celebrity. Injured, half drowned himself and sedated by the doctor, he has no chance to set the record straight at first, and as time goes by, the prospect of telling the truth becomes harder to contemplate. In the meantime, Alex, a visiting cousin who knows the truth, trumpets Brodie's heroism for reasons of his own, while there is evidence of a mysterious witness to the tragedy. With the support of a loyal friend and loving parents, Brodie finds the strength to come clean, but since he has been presented as a stable, right-thinking character, his decision is never really in doubt. While Bunting hints at the price Brodie will have to pay for holding back, the story ends before the boom actually falls. Ingrid Tomey makes the horns of a similar dilemma much sharper in Nobody Else Has To Know (p. 890), while Marion Dane Bauer, of course, charted a more subtle route in On My Honor (1986). (Fiction. 10-12)
