Aftershock

November 15, 2011
Football (soccer to Americans), his father's mandolin and his concern for his widowed mother carry Makis through an earthquake on the Greek island of Kefalonia to a new life in Camden Town in London. The story moves swiftly, from the earthquake that devastates the island and kills Makis' father (an earthquake actually did destroy the island in 1953), to the relocation to England, to Makis' finding a place on the football team. His mother, Sofia, is devastated by her loss of spouse and homeland. She works in a Greek-run factory, but most of the Greeks there and in council housing are Greek-Cypriot and do not treat her kindly. Makis rapidly learns English and shows his strength on the pitch, but the boy he replaces on the school team rags on him because of his nationality. Not only does Makis find a way to teach his mother English, but an upstairs neighbor, a BBC musician, hears him play his father's mandolin and invites Makis to practice with him. A crucial game, a crisis for his mother, a confrontation with a bully and a coach coming late to understanding combine for a satisfying climax. Ashley packs a lot of information and emotional resonance as well as some wizard football plays into a very simply told story. Both Makis and his mother show growth and strength under difficult circumstances, and children will be caught by the many strands in this brief but absorbing tale. (Fiction. 8-12)

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March 1, 2012

Gr 5-7-After Makis's father is killed in an earthquake that destroys most of their Greek island, the boy and his mother board a ship to London where she can find work to support them. The move is traumatic as the city is dark and gloomy compared to their island, his mother hates her job, and she is frightened to go far from their apartment because she doesn't speak or read English. Makis goes to school and works hard to learn the new language. The other students don't welcome refugees, but he is a better than average soccer player, which earns him some respect and a place on the team. He sees his once-strong mother slipping deeper and deeper into depression and, trying to ease her despair, begins to teach her English. A neighbor who is a well-known musician hears Makis playing his father's mandolin and invites him to join him for practice, which, Makis realizes, is really for lessons. The music brings much joy to both Makis and his mother as she slowly begins to return to her former self. British terms keep the story from reading as smoothly as it might for an American audience, the characters show little growth, and the plot is predictable.-Nancy P. Reeder, Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, Columbia, SC

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