Children's Fiction, Social Situations
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Overview
A captivating new novel from Printz Award winner David Almond.
Liam and his friend Max are playing in their neighborhood when the call of a bird leads them out into a field beyond their town. There, they find a baby lying alone atop a pile of stones—with a note pinned to her clothing. Mystified, Liam brings the baby home to his parents. They agree to take her in, but police searches turn up no sign of the baby’s parents. Finally they must surrender the baby to a foster family, who name her Allison. Visiting her in Northumberland, Liam meets Oliver, a foster son from Liberia who claims to be a refugee from the war there, and Crystal, a foster daughter. When Liam’s parents decide to adopt Allison, Crystal and Oliver are invited to her christening. There, Oliver tells Liam about how he will be slaughtered if he is sent back to Liberia. The next time Liam sees Crystal, it is when she and Oliver have run away from their foster homes, desperate to keep Oliver from being sent back to Liberia. In a cave where the two are hiding, Liam learns the truth behind Oliver’s dark past—and is forced to ponder what all children are capable of.
Synopsis
Liam and his friend Max are playing in their neighborhood when the call of a bird leads them out into a field beyond their town. There, they find a baby lying alone atop a pile of stones—with this note pinned to her clothing:
PLESE LOOK AFTER HER RITE. THIS IS A CHILDE OF GOD.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
In a thought-provoking coming-of-age story, British writer Almond (Skellig; Clay) delves into the darkest realm of the human psyche as he expresses the conflicting urges of an adolescent. Liam is walking with a friend when a mysterious raven leads them to an abandoned baby. The boys are lauded for bringing the infant safely home, but Liam doesn’t feel heroic. While he has enormous tenderness for the infant (and a pair of foster children he meets), he is deeply affected by acts of violence: sordid videos sent to him by a classmate, visceral accounts of war, and a local art gallery’s display of disturbing images. His mother dismisses the pictures as “voyeuristic trash,” but his father thinks they may have value: “Maybe they’re showing us how horrible the world is.” Liam’s views vacillate and his morals are tested several times, but never as dramatically as during a final reckoning, when violence seems the only way to save a friend’s life. Almond tackles complex questions about humanity from multiple points of view; flashes of wisdom—sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting—arrive at unexpected moments. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)VOYA -
Summer vacation is adventurous for high school student, Liam. In the woods, he and his friend Max find an abandoned baby, who is later fostered by Liam's mother. He is harassed by Nattrass, a childhood friend who now leads a gang of bullies intent on scaring others with their cruel games. He meets Crystal and Oliver, two foster children scarred by horrific events in their lives, who run away together, seeking Liam to cover for them. The three eventually hide out in a cave near Liam's Northumberland village. After Nattrass and his chums find the runaways, Liam attacks him with a knife, nearly killing him in a fit of anger. Almond shows his deftness at presenting his characters with psychological dilemmas. In this book, he probes the motivation for individuals to resort to violence. He effectively juxtaposes the innocence of the baby with the bullying of Liam's peers and the violent games that children sometimes play, suggesting that perhaps violence is something that can be programmed. He also contrasts the normalness of country life with violent events going on in other places. It is a dark novel, suited more for mature male readers; however, they may find Liam almost too immature for his supposed age and the constant attention on war and violence too disturbing. Despite these flaws, Almond can be credited with raising important questions about the nature of violence and the influence of parenting on children's behavior. Reviewer: Chris CarlsonSchool Library Journal
Gr 7–9—Liam lives with his father, a famous writer, and his mother, a photographer, on Britain's Northumbrian coast. One day out wandering with his friend Max, Liam is led by a raven to a baby left with a note and some money. When Liam and his parents visit the infant's foster family, Liam connects immediately with two of the foster children, Crystal, a wild-child girl, and Oliver, a refugee from Liberia. Liam's mother falls in love with the baby, and she comes to live with his family. When Crystal and Oliver run away to Liam's secret hideaway, Oliver reveals his true identity, and Liam is forced to explore the darkest parts of his own soul as he realizes the evil he is capable of doing. Raven Summer is set in the recent past against the backdrop of the war in Iraq. It explores how children everywhere are physically and psychologically scarred by violence and brutality that they cannot escape and can be led to do horrible things. Almond's story is a passionate plea for peace, and the putting away of weapons of war. While the question of the book's audience is a valid one, and while there are perhaps a few places where the children seem impossibly wise, and are even perhaps acting as mouthpieces for the author, this book is exquisitely crafted and will make any reader stop and think about the consequences of violence.—Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MOKirkus Reviews
With a storyteller's flair and a poet's precision, Almond reveals the fierce intensity of childhood, and this rare acknowledgment permeates his latest novel set in England's Northumberland in the time of Bush and Blair. A noisy raven leads 14-year-old Liam Lynch and his best friend to a golden-haired baby lass, abandoned in ruins. This fairy-tale story captures the media's imagination (and even that of his preoccupied famous-author father) and ultimately leads Liam to the green-eyed Crystal, a passionate, troubled foster-care teen who considers him "normal" in part because he's loved by his family, and Oliver, a Liberian refugee who isn't telling his whole, awful story. Liam's colorful entourage forces him to examine the very nature of evil-is it the barmy, bullying Nattrass, who delights in staging blindfolded beheadings? Is it in Oliver's eyes? In his own? Was even the sweet foundling born a beast and murderer? The baby's happy coos, even as Iraq-bound planes fly overhead, ground this hypnotic, sensuous foray into the nature of war, truth, art and the savagery of humanity. (Fiction. 14 & up)Children's Literature -
The summer that Liam and his friend Max follow the raven becomes one that will change the course of their lives forever. The raven leads them directly to an abandoned baby with a note pinned to her clothing and a jar of money. Liam takes the baby home, and after months of searching for the parents, the baby is placed in foster care. When Liam visits the foster family, he meets Crystal, a troubled free spirit and Oliver, a young boy escaping the war in his home country of Liberia. The pair intrigue him, and they form an instant, though cautious bond. The foster parents soon find themselves having to give up all three children, and Liam's mom decides that they should adopt the baby while Crystal and Oliver move on to other foster families. Soon after, Crystal disappears and Liam knows that it is only a matter of time until she and Oliver show up in his town, looking for him. In this book, David Almond reinvents the coming-of-age story into a twisted tale involving war, broken friendships, and negligent parenting. Much like his other novels, this newest tale is artfully woven together and explores the darker side of humanity. Teachers and librarians, beware: readers who have enjoyed his other works will not be disappointed, but this book is not for the reluctant reader or the wandering mind. This book demands readers' full attention if they are to follow the characters and slightly jagged plotline. Reviewer: Jeanna SciarrottaBook Details
Published
September 13, 2011
Publisher
Random House Children's Books
Pages
208
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780385738071