Tough Times: Two Middle-Grade Historical Novels for Boys

River Rats, by Leslie J. Wyatt.  Royal Fireworks Press, 2013, 212 pages.  Age/interest level: 10-14.

Kenny Barton would be the first to admit he doesn’t have it too bad.  A Missouri farm boy’s life in 1940 doesn’t lack for hard work and long days, but when the work is done adventure calls: fields and woods to explore and, best of all, a river to fish, swim, and navigate in the company of his friends Bert and Henry and his older brother Jim.  Jim is not just older, he is lord of all he surveys—a golden boy with the looks and personality of a natural leader.  And if he gets a little too lordly at times, well, that’s just Jim.  He’s too slick at getting out of chores and arranging things his own way, but life would be a lot duller without his ready jokes and easy smile.  Kenny might have been perfectly content forever playing second fiddle if Henry Nichols hadn’t shown up and got on Jim’s bad side.  Henry isn’t very impressive: “a thin stick of a person, there was an aloneness about him that made him seem more like an early-morning mist . . .”  But there’s an inherent nobility about him that brings out Jim’s overbearing side, and in the resulting tension Kenny finds himself caught in the middle.

As she did in Poor Is Just a Starting Place (Holiday House, 2005), Leslie Wyatt creates an antagonist with redeeming qualities that help explain how he “gets away with it”—whatever “it” is.  In Jim’s case, it’s a will to dominate that convinces almost everyone around him, especially his brother.  The reader is likely to get very frustrated with Kenny’s failure to stand up to Jim even when it’s obviously the thing to do—but the reader shouldn’t be so hasty.  Playing out against the small foreground of local events is a big story on the world stage: over in Europe, another dominating individual is bending all of Europe to his sway.  Kenny comes to realize that trivial-seeming decisions can have big consequences, and a tyrant is a tyrant, not matter how petty.  

Readers will appreciate the authentic feel of the times and the interplay between characters.  Unfortunately the book is published by a smaller press, and may not be readily available in most libraries.  But if your library doesn’t have it, try inter-library loan.  It’s worth tracking down.

• Worldview/moral value: 4.5
• Literary value: 4

Whistle in the Dark, by Susan Hill Long.  Holiday House, 2013, 180 pages including historical note.  Age/interest level: 10-14

Clem’s thirteenth-birthday present from his father is a miner’s cap and a carbide lamp, needed for his first day of work in the lead mines.  Why can’t it be a bicycle, or (Clem’s fondest wish) a dog?  Because this is 1924, in a shantytown called Leadanna, Missouri, and his younger sister Esther needs medical help for her epilepsy–and besides, mining is just what Harding men do.  Clem’s dad has done it without complaint, managing to take pride in his work, and if it’s good enough for Pap . . . But of course Clem is cut from finer cloth, or at least different cloth: a sensitive soul and gifted young writer whose teacher hoped for better things for him.  It looks like his doom is sealed, but he is granted some compensation in the form of a stray dog his reluctant parents allow him to keep.  He also forms an unexpected friendship with Linda Jean, the school outcast whose dad runs a moonshine operation.  Linda has a terribly scarred face and a lot of secrets which would should make their friendship more difficult than it is.  But okay—Clem needs some sunshine in his life. 

A natural disaster seems to set the story up a sad ending, but this is middle-grade fiction, so that can’t happen.  Though the ending seems a bit improbable, the reader can’t help feeling glad.  Clem comes across as a flawed but likeable character; Lindy likewise, with a pluckiness and humor that help her deal with circumstances that would crush someone with less starch.  I also appreciated the realistic details of the period and the mining industry, as well as the understanding portrayals of Clem’s parents and grandfather.  Whistle in the Dark has received some favorable notice for its artistry, but its worldview, in spite of the happy ending, offers no reason for hope–only a stoic faith that tells itself pretty stories and wishes for the best.  At a funeral Clem observes, “I think the best we can do is wish each other good luck and . . . and hold on tight.”  That’s actually pretty accurate for the time and social milieu, and stoic attitudes are better than some other kinds of attitudes.  But it might be a bit much for a ten-year-old reader.  There is also a small amount of mild profanity and one instance of Jesus’ name taken in vain.  I see this more and more in middle-grade fiction—why???

• Worldview/moral value: 3
• Literary value: 3.5

For more middle-grade historical fiction of special interest to boys, see our reviews of Heart of a Samurai, The King of Mulberry Street, On the Blue Comet, Around the World in 100 Days, Duncan’s War, War Horse, 90 Miles to Havana, Dead End in Norvelt, Soldier Bear, City of Orphans, Robin Hood, Will Sparrow’s Road, Hero on a Bicycle, and Shadow on the Mountain.  (If a title doesn’t have a link, just search for titles in the search box, as I’m having some trouble adding links today—sorry for the inconvenience!)