Written in Blood

October 1, 2010

Sixteen-year-old Jim has left his 1870s home in Canada and, based on clues from an old letter, is traveling to the Mexican border village of Casas Grandes in search of his long-missing father. Along the vividly depicted trail, he encounters several lightly sketched characters who offer him their stories.  Each one usefully provides hints to his father's past. Some, like Ed, are purely, over-the-top, evil. Others—cave-dwelling, half-Apache Too-ah-yay-say; amiable, elderly Mexican Santiago; and Nah-kee-tats-an, another Apache, who conveniently shows up precisely when most needed—provide key information and wisdom as Jim draws his own conclusions about his mysterious father. Violent, graphically depicted death abounds. Near the climax, Ed's exposition on the past goes on for too many pages to be fully believable, and much of the dialogue is similarly expository. Still, chapters are short and action filled, Jim is a likable character and reluctant readers will find this to be a fast-paced, easy-to-swallow tale of the Old West. (Historical fiction. 11-14)

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April 1, 2011

Gr 8 Up-"This is a world whose history is written in blood" 16-year-old Jim Doolen observes as he makes his way across Arizona toward the Mexican border. The year is 1877, and Jim has traveled from his home in British Columbia to find his father, who left 10 years earlier, leaving behind only a cryptic note referencing a shadowy past and a hacienda owned by a Don Alfonzo Ramirez. Jim's journey causes him to cross paths with bandits, an Apache warrior, and other colorful figures, all of whom share stories of their experiences on the brutal, violent frontier-a history, Jim comes to realize, that is inextricably tied to his own search. The tensions among American, Mexican, and Native factions are well drawn, and Wilson pulls no punches regarding the cruelty of the new world into which Jim finds himself thrown. However, the slow start and somewhat meandering narrative may make this a difficult sell to anyone but dedicated Western and historical-fiction fans.-Christi Esterle, Parker Library, CO

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2010
Grades 6-9 A Canadian teenager encounters road agents, roving Apaches, and any number of corpses while searching for his vanished father in this melodramatic tale of the Old West. Going on clues provided in a last letter laced with references to a troubled past, James sets out for a place called Casa Grande in Chihuahua. Before reaching the dusty, ruined hacienda to discover his fathers fate and survive a climactic gunfight, he is beaten and robbed; recovers from his wounds in the care of an eccentric old hermit, who fills him in on the importance of having a story; meets a cousin of Cochise whose band is subsequently ambushed by scalp hunters (and goes on to return the favor); and learns of his own familys gore-spattered history. Told in a terse, present-tense narrative, James adventures will thrill all fans of traditional pulp-style oaters.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)