Hell and High Water

Starred review from April 17, 2017
In an adventure set in 18th-century England, Landman (The Goldsmith’s Daughter) introduces a desperate, on-the-run hero who is trying to solve a mystery. Caleb, the dark-skinned son of a white puppeteer, has always acted as his father’s assistant when they perform Punch and Judy shows. After his father is wrongfully arrested for theft, Caleb flees to a fishing village to live with an aunt he’s never met. Welcomed by her and his cousin but shunned by the other villagers, Caleb gets the shock of his life when his father’s corpse washes ashore. Soon after, Caleb’s sailor uncle returns from sea acting strangely. Determined to find answers relating to these two events, Caleb embarks on a dangerous mission that leads him straight into a ring of tyranny and deception. Suspenseful from first page to last, the book delves into racism, class structure, and the abuse of power while highlighting one unprivileged adolescent’s attempt to beat a corrupt system. Landman brings to life the sights, sounds, and injustices of a bygone era and is just as attentive to Caleb’s strong emotions as his life becomes increasingly dangerous. Ages 12–up.

April 1, 2017
Gr 8 Up-Fifteen-year-old Caleb and his father tour mid-18th-century England with their Punch and Judy puppet show; Caleb's white father shields him as much as he can from racist taunts and treatment, but the black teen is forced to fend for himself when his father is framed for a robbery and exiled to the American colonies. Following his dad's directions, Caleb tracks down his aunt, who now lives in a seaside community. Although his aunt is initially shocked, he is welcomed into her home, which she shares with her stepdaughter, Letty. Caleb soon learns that the community is ruled by Sir Robert Fairbrother, who owns many of the residences. When Caleb's father's body washes up onshore, the parson and Sir Robert are adamant that the corpse is not Caleb's dad. Letty and Caleb are determined to find out the truth, which leads them to discover rampant bribery and deceit in Sir Robert's business. The harshness of 18th-century life is brutally portrayed, from catastrophic illnesses to the merciless power of nobility. Caleb's strength and courage help him endure painful treatment; numerous heart-pounding close calls are exciting and taut with tension. The identity twist and romance near the end of the story are a bit jarring and strain credulity. The puppet show descriptions add much-needed humor. VERDICT Although some parts seem unrealistic, this title is recommended for those looking to add to their YA historical fiction shelves.-Jennifer Schultz, Fauquier County Public Library, Warrenton, VA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2017
Murder and mystery abound in this engrossing and atmospheric tale set in 18th-century England.Fifteen-year-old Caleb Chappell is a mixed-race boy whose life is shrouded in mystery. He knows nothing about his black mother, and his white father--a talented puppeteer--is the son of a disgraced earl but never discusses his past. When his father is falsely convicted of theft, Caleb is forced to seek protection from a hitherto-unknown paternal aunt who married a sailor and resides with her stepdaughter in a small port town. After settling into his new life, Caleb receives a shock when a body bearing his father's signet ring washes up on the shore. Though he knows the corpse is his father, everyone in the town, from the parson to the local lord of the manor, is determined to convince Caleb otherwise. In her latest novel, Carnegie Medalist Landman (Buffalo Soldier, 2014) crafts a scintillating story of corruption headed by a winsome and tenacious protagonist. The author's concise descriptions of the sea's frightening vastness, the confining and insulated spirit of the small English town, and the provincial xenophobic attitudes of its denizens are almost cinematic in scope. Often mistaken for a slave, Caleb must endure whispers and pointed racism that are as historically accurate as they are disheartening. So riveting that the pages seem to turn of their own accord. (Fiction. 13-adult)

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Starred review from May 1, 2017
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* Landman's Dickensian novel takes readers to eighteenth-century England, where a mixed-race teen and his father, Joseph, who is white, travel the countryside putting on Punch and Judy shows. Their itinerant life crashes around them when a thief drops a purloined silk purse at Joseph's feet, framing the puppeteer for the crime. To Caleb's horror, his father is dragged to prison and sentenced to be transported to America. Following Joseph's whispered instructions, Caleb makes his way to his heretofore unknown aunt's house, where he is welcomed by his aunt, though her stepdaughter, Lettie, is standoffish, and the town is downright hostile to a darkie like Caleb. Not long after his arrival, he discovers a disfigured body on the beach wearing Joseph's beloved ring, but while Caleb runs for help, the identifying ring is stolen. Though no one believes Caleb's claim that this man is his father, he knows something is deeply wrong. As he seeks the truth, he and Lettie grow closer, and they uncover rampant corruption and family secrets. This story is both a taut mystery and an excellent piece of historical fiction that brings issues of class, race, and justice into sharp focus. The compelling, complex characters come to life through Landman's sophisticated writing, and the plot's many twists strike like expertly timed smacks from Punch's slapstick.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
In 1750s England, Caleb's father is framed for theft, so dark-skinned Caleb goes to live with his aunt. Then Caleb finds his father's corpse washed up on the shore. Pa's fate is one piece in a vast web of treachery; the action intensifies as Caleb peels back layers of corruption. A satisfying yarn based on an actual 1752 shipwreck and the "extraordinary scandal that followed."

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2017
It's the 1750s, and Caleb and his father make their living traveling around England performing Punch and Judy shows--until Pa is framed for a theft he didn't commit. When he is sentenced to be transported to the colonies, he urges Caleb to go to Devon and find his aunt--someone Caleb had no idea existed. In his aunt's fishing village, dark-skinned Caleb is abused by racist villagers, but he finds his aunt, her baby, and her stepdaughter to be a loving family. Then he comes upon his father's corpse washed up on the shore, and realizes that Pa's fate is but a tiny piece in a vast web of treachery and theft. In a tale of considerable action, Landman shows the great gulf between the period's confident rationalism (language can "tame emotions, confine fears, govern passions," Caleb's father tells him) and its greed and class injustice. In restrained, atmospheric prose, she mingles horror and drama, family affection and rational debate. The action intensifies as Caleb peels back the layers of corruption, culminating in a shipwreck, an explosion, an escape by sea and land, a betrayal, a hanging, and a marriage. A satisfying yarn based on an actual 1752 shipwreck and, as described in the author's note, the "extraordinary scandal that followed." deirdre f. baker

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)