Teen Fiction

I Had Seen Castles

Name: I Had Seen Castles
Author: Cynthia Rylant
ISBN: 9780152053123

by Cynthia Rylant

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Overview

John Dante is seventeen when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and he wants to fight for his country. But then he falls head over heels for Ginny Burton, who is against all war, and his beliefs are suddenly questioned. Rather than be judged a traitor or a coward, though, John enlists—a decision that changes his life forever.

Includes a reader's guide and an inverview with the author.

Now an old man, John is haunted by memories of enlisting to fight in World War II, a decision which forced him to face the horrors of war and changed his life forever.

Synopsis

Now an old man, John is haunted by memories of enlisting to fight in the WWII, a decision that forced him to face the horrors of war and changed his life forever.

Publishers Weekly

An idealistic 17-year-old's life changes dramatically when he enlists in the service, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. According to PW's boxed review, "This finely drawn novel projects emotional truths to rival those of Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. Not to be missed." Ages 12-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Cynthia Rylant

CYNTHIA RYLANT is the acclaimed author of many beloved books for young people, including the Mr. Putter & Tabby series, the novel Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and the Little Whistle series. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

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Editorials

From the Publisher

[star]"Wonderfully spare language and imagery . . . poignant."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

[star]"Tantalizing. . . Rylant writes with passion and hearbreaking honesty."—The New York Times Book Review (starred review)

[star]"Heartbreaking . . . Not to be missed."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Library Journal

First published in 1993, Rylant's spare classic is first and foremost a love story. John Dante is 17 and cannot wait to enlist after bombs rain over Pearl Harbor. As burning as his desire for revenge is his love for Ginny, the beautiful pacifist who tries to convince him not to go. She believes the cost of war is always too high. Fifty years later, an older and wiser John recounts their passion-now lost to history-and concludes, "Ginny, I want you to know that I am really alive. And I still love you." Treat yourself to a bittersweet hour in the company of these two remarkable lovers.—Angelina Benedetti, "35 Going on 13," BookSmack! 8/19/10

Publishers Weekly

The ALAN Review - Mike Angelotti

This is a powerful, powerful book-one that no one should put off reading. Yes, it is a love story, and it is a loss-of-innocence story. But most dramatically, it is the story of one seventeen-year old's loss of the romanticized outlook on war typical of youth. This story of World War II, which is to me more powerful of its time period than The Red Badge of Courage is of the Civil War. What makes it so compelling is its art, the weaving of a richly colored poetic fiber into its beautifully crafted fiction-a book as close to poetic fiction as I have read: "I could not stay in America because America had not suffered. I needed to be with those whose eyes looked like my own, who had covered their faces and lain in the darkness as bombs fell" (p. 95). The book works. Read it. Bring it to your eleventh and twelfth graders.