Children - Fiction & Literature

Weasel

Name: Weasel
Author: Cynthia Defelice
ISBN: 9780380713585

by Cynthia Defelice

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Overview

The name has haunted my sleep and made my awake hours uneasy for as long as I can remember. Other children whisper that he is part man and part animal — wild and blood-thirsty. But I know Weasel is real: a man, an Indian fighter the government sent to drive off the Indians — to "remove them." Weasel has his own ideas about removal...

Now that the Shawnees are dead or have left, Weasel has turned on the settlers. Like his namesake, the weasel, he hunts by night and sleeps by day, and he kills not because he is hungry, but for the sport of it...I know what I have to do. Weasel is out there. He could come here and hurt us. Maybe Pa can wait for the day when we'll have the law to take care of men like Weasel. But I can't...

Alone in the frontier wilderness in the winter of 1839 while his father is recovering from an injury, eleven-year-old Nathan runs afoul of the renegade killer known as Weasel and makes a surprising discovery about the concept of revenge.

Synopsis

Kliatt

This novel is poignant reading for middle school students and reluctant readers.

About the Author, Cynthia Defelice

Cynthia DeFelice is the highly acclaimed author of eight novels for young readers, including The Ghost of Fossil Glen, which received a starred review in SLJ and a boxed review in Booklist, and The Apprenticeship of Lucas Whitaker, which was named an ALA Notable Book and a SLJ Best Book of the Year.

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Editorials

Kliatt

This novel is poignant reading for middle school students and reluctant readers.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In PW 's words, ``Readers drawn to pioneer adventure will not be disappointed by this fast-paced novel set in Ohio during the 1800s. The book succeeeds in building tension and revealing thought-provoking ideas about human frailties and the struggle to accept unpleasant truths.'' Ages 8-12. (Oct.)

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman

Rarely does the face of evil appear so vividly in a children's book as it does in the novel Weasel. Set in 1839 in Ohio, it can be read superficially as a grand adventure story. Nathan Fowler, 11, is captured by the renegade killer Weasel, escapes, and then plans his own revenge. On a deeper level, this is a story about the morality of taking another person's life regardless of his unspeakable deeds. Certainly Weasel deserves to die, but as Nathan's father points out, "Is it the act of pulling the trigger that makes a person brave?" The reasonable voice of Nathan's father adds depth and hope to this story. It is a page-turner that reads aloud well and will give you much to think about. 1991 (orig.

School Library Journal

Gr 4-7A ruthless villain known as Weasel commits unspeakable atrocities in the frontier wilderness. When 12-year-old Nathan's family is victimized, the boy is determined to avenge the wrongs on his own. A masterfully told, riveting tale sure to inspire strong discussion about moral choices. (May 1990)