March 17, 2008
BOOK REVIEW: 'The Night I Freed John Brown': An Exciting, Fun Book for Young Readers -- And Their Parents
By David M. Kinchen
Huntingtonnews.net Book Critic
It's always a pleasure to come across books I can recommend for young readers. I can do so without reservation for "The Night I Freed John Brown" (Philomel, 276 pages, $17.99) by West Virginia native John Michael Cummings.
Now a resident of Brooklyn, NY, his novel -- expanded from a novella called 'The House of My Father' -- features a large and well-drawn cast of Harpers Ferry, WV residents -- especially Josh Connors, his new friend Luke Richmond, Josh's "mean" dad Bill Connors and his long-suffering mom Katie. It is the kind of youth novel adults can enjoy as much as their teenage children. Maybe even more, as they reflect on what a horrendous age 13 -- the age of Josh and Luke -- was for them!
Harpers Ferry is an unusual town, since much of its territory is included in the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, creating a kind of town vs. gown split that's reminiscent of a college town. This naturally brought to mind one of my all-time favorite movies, "Breaking Away," written by Steve Tesich (1942-1996), based on his experiences as a student at Indiana University in Bloomington. The 1979 film, directed by Peter Yates, starred Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Parkersburg, WV native Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie and garnered an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Tesich's original screenplay about a town kid who organized a team to compete in IU's Little 500 bike race.
Like Dave, played by Dennis Christopher in "Breaking Away," Josh is drawn to the sophisticated Richmond family who live next door in a spotless house. Niles Richmond is a divorced dad who works for the Park Service as a historian and to Josh he's everything Bill Connors is not. Richmond is kind, loves music and plays and enlists Josh to portray one of John Brown's sons in a play in which Niles Richmond is John Brown. Naturally, Bill Connors opposes his son's participation in the play, so Josh does it without telling his mom and dad.
There are elements of a ghost story in "The Night I Freed John Brown," with the opening of the novel taking place in the house where Bill Connors grew up. The five-story house was a Roman Catholic retreat house, but it's now vacant, except for occasional visits by transients -- and Josh and Luke.
When Bill learns that Josh and Luke have visited the house, he has one of his frequent tantrums, prompting the inquisitive Josh to probe the matter even more. Josh would make a great investigative reporter -- or writer -- since Cummings said much of the novel is based on his experiences growing up in Harpers Ferry in the 1970s.
The novel also is educational, in a non-invasive way, since it explains to history-deprived young people -- and their parents -- the connection between radical abolitionist John Brown and the slave revolt he planned in 1859 in the federal armory town of Harpers Ferry, VA, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
The "everything is illuminated" ending of "The Night I Freed John Brown" --don't worry, I'm not going to give it away -- provides a satisfactory resolution of Josh's concerns that he's the child Katie wanted, not Bill. Yes, Josh is the youngest of three children and his two brothers, Jerry and Robbie, are merciless teasers of Josh.
Although it's not scheduled for release until May, the novel is available for pre-sale at Amazon.com, Cummings says. It's one of the best novels I've read in a long time and, as I noted, it's not just for young people. Philomel Books is a division of the Penguin Group, an outstanding major publisher. Calling all librarians out there: Buy this book! You might have to buy multiple copies.
Author's web site: www.johnmichaelcummings.com
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BOOK REVIEW: 'The Night I Freed John Brown': An Exciting, Fun Book for Young Readers -- And Their Parents
By David M. Kinchen
Huntingtonnews.net Book Critic
It's always a pleasure to come across books I can recommend for young readers. I can do so without reservation for "The Night I Freed John Brown" (Philomel, 276 pages, $17.99) by West Virginia native John Michael Cummings.
Now a resident of Brooklyn, NY, his novel -- expanded from a novella called 'The House of My Father' -- features a large and well-drawn cast of Harpers Ferry, WV residents -- especially Josh Connors, his new friend Luke Richmond, Josh's "mean" dad Bill Connors and his long-suffering mom Katie. It is the kind of youth novel adults can enjoy as much as their teenage children. Maybe even more, as they reflect on what a horrendous age 13 -- the age of Josh and Luke -- was for them!
Harpers Ferry is an unusual town, since much of its territory is included in the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, creating a kind of town vs. gown split that's reminiscent of a college town. This naturally brought to mind one of my all-time favorite movies, "Breaking Away," written by Steve Tesich (1942-1996), based on his experiences as a student at Indiana University in Bloomington. The 1979 film, directed by Peter Yates, starred Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Parkersburg, WV native Paul Dooley and Barbara Barrie and garnered an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Tesich's original screenplay about a town kid who organized a team to compete in IU's Little 500 bike race.
Like Dave, played by Dennis Christopher in "Breaking Away," Josh is drawn to the sophisticated Richmond family who live next door in a spotless house. Niles Richmond is a divorced dad who works for the Park Service as a historian and to Josh he's everything Bill Connors is not. Richmond is kind, loves music and plays and enlists Josh to portray one of John Brown's sons in a play in which Niles Richmond is John Brown. Naturally, Bill Connors opposes his son's participation in the play, so Josh does it without telling his mom and dad.
There are elements of a ghost story in "The Night I Freed John Brown," with the opening of the novel taking place in the house where Bill Connors grew up. The five-story house was a Roman Catholic retreat house, but it's now vacant, except for occasional visits by transients -- and Josh and Luke.
When Bill learns that Josh and Luke have visited the house, he has one of his frequent tantrums, prompting the inquisitive Josh to probe the matter even more. Josh would make a great investigative reporter -- or writer -- since Cummings said much of the novel is based on his experiences growing up in Harpers Ferry in the 1970s.
The novel also is educational, in a non-invasive way, since it explains to history-deprived young people -- and their parents -- the connection between radical abolitionist John Brown and the slave revolt he planned in 1859 in the federal armory town of Harpers Ferry, VA, at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.
The "everything is illuminated" ending of "The Night I Freed John Brown" --don't worry, I'm not going to give it away -- provides a satisfactory resolution of Josh's concerns that he's the child Katie wanted, not Bill. Yes, Josh is the youngest of three children and his two brothers, Jerry and Robbie, are merciless teasers of Josh.
Although it's not scheduled for release until May, the novel is available for pre-sale at Amazon.com, Cummings says. It's one of the best novels I've read in a long time and, as I noted, it's not just for young people. Philomel Books is a division of the Penguin Group, an outstanding major publisher. Calling all librarians out there: Buy this book! You might have to buy multiple copies.
Author's web site: www.johnmichaelcummings.com
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