Joshua's Song

October 29, 2001
Harlow's (Star in the Storm) novel, set in 1919 Boston, touches on some tough issues, including child labor, death and the Great Molasses Flood (due to the explosion of a molasses tank). After the death of 13-year-old Joshua's father, his Boston Brahmin mother takes in boarders (whom Josh has to call aunt and uncle to throw off the neighbors), and the boy must quit school to help earn money. Newsboy kingpin Charlestown Charlie (a tough Irish immigrant) presses Josh into service as a "newsie," and Josh is also hired to sneak story leads to their boarder, "uncle" Marc Muggeridge, an editor for the Boston Traveler. Though the author stacks the odds against Josh, the conflicts tend to fizzle. For example, Mr. Muggeridge feeds Josh the idea that he should buy his own papers rather than work for Charlie and then offers to fight Josh's battle for him. Likewise the picture of rough-and-tumble street life seems fairly tame. The titular song refers to the loss of the hero's famous soprano voice (a talent that makes him known even to the mayor) and his refusal to sing even at his father's funeral—until he shares his gift to help a victim of the molasses flood. Despite colorful details based on actual events, the novel's ending wraps everything up a bit too neatly. Ages 9-12.

November 1, 2001
Gr 4-6-A fast-paced novel with a likable main character. World War I has ended and the influenza epidemic has taken Joshua's father. His mother, formerly one of Boston's elite, is struggling to make ends meet because of her husband's debts. She takes in boarders whom her son must call "uncle" and "aunt" so the neighbors don't know she's running a boarding house, and Joshua must give up his private school and find work. Harlow quickly sets up this background, then begins the boy's adventures the day he becomes a newsboy. The plot moves swiftly as he falls in with Charlestown Charlie, who oversees the newsboys in downtown Boston; meets a reporter who will pay for the stories Joshua can bring him; and learns about the darker side of city life when he meets a girl who sells papers to help her sick mother. The climax of the story is based on the Molasses Flood of 1919, when a huge tanker full of molasses exploded in Boston's North End, killing 21 people. The conclusion is somewhat pat; Joshua's mother sells property and is no longer poor. One hopes that the boy won't forget his friends or the lessons he's learned. Harlow skillfully integrates historical fact to make a colorful setting believable. An afterword gives other interesting details. A worthwhile title for historical-fiction collections.-Sally Bates Goodroe, formerly at Harris County Public Library, Houston, TX

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

applemango - This is all a new experience for Joshua, his father has died and his mother and him take in borders into their home. Joshua gets a job from Charlie as a newspaper boy, however his mom doesn't know the full truth. He is selling the newspapers but his mom thinks he is just working at the newspaper company. While he is working he earns the nickname, "Gentleman Josh" he then gets good business and decides not to work for Charlie with the help of a friend. There is a molasses tank and his friend Angel or Angelica lives by it with her mother. Her father is someplace else. When Angel's building is collapsing because the tank explodes, Angel's mother is in their. And the lovely music sound he has not produced in a while comes out giving Angel's mother a peaceful and lovely pass away................Joshua finally finds his heart...............

December 15, 2001
Gr. 5-8. Thirteen-year-old Joshua Harper's life has altered dramatically since his father's death in the 1918 influenza pandemic: he has had to quit school and go to work as a newsboy, and his changing voice has made it impossible for him to continue to sing with the Boston Boys' Choir. He earns good money as a newsboy, but Charlie, his tough, street-smart newsboy boss, is constantly challenging him. He can't find a place. He doesn't fit in with his former friends or with the news kids, who view him as a snob. It's not until a storage tank ruptures, flooding Boston's North End with millions of gallons of molasses that Josh finds his new "voice" and gets the respect he deserves. Even readers who don't usually like historical fiction will enjoy Harlow's vivid depiction of early-twentieth-century working-class life and conditions. They will also like the fast-paced story, which revolves around an actual incident, the Great Molasses Flood of 1919.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)