Review by New York Times Review
NOWADAYS, KIDS FANTASIZE about running away to sea about as much as they dream of joining the circus. But there's a wonderful moment in Kate Milford's new middle-grade novel, "The Left-Handed Fate," that could make even the most Minecraft-addicted landlubber want to get on board. The setting is the Chesapeake Bay in 1812. An English sea captain's daughter named Lucy Bluecrowne and a scientist in training named Max Ault sit high above deck in the crosstrees of a schooner. While Max clings to the mast, Lucy balances on a spar, fluttering her legs "like a child on a swing" while all around them, "the rigging sighed as the wind played on the ropes like fingers on guitar strings." What modern child could resist? The tall ship is a swaying, bobbing, hundred-foot-high jungle gym, an ocean away from helicopter parents. Milford is a master at creating intricate worlds infused with an element of the fantastical. One of the many pleasures of her Edgar Award-winning novel "Greenglass House" was the rich depiction of its eponymous setting: a ramshackle smuggler's hotel in the fictional seaside town of Nagspeake. For the setting of "The Left-Handed Fate," Milford concocts a captivating portrait of 19th-century sloops and brigs with their lamplit captain's quarters, copper-bound sea chests and late-night snacks of biscuits and sherry. Her seascape is also peppered with odd supernatural phenomena, like unexplained bursts of electricity and "philosophic" iron that slithers as if alive. This world has a seductive, fairytale quality - Patrick O'Brian's Captain Aubrey series as seen through the lens of Hayao Miyazaki. And like a classic Miyazaki film, Milford's story features precociously talented young protagonists struggling against dark forces. The novel begins as the Left-Handed Fate, the British privateer commanded by Lucy's father, heads toward Baltimore on a mysterious mission. Max has commissioned the ship in search of three pieces of an ancient mechanical engine rumored to be the only weapon capable of defeating Napoleon. The French are also looking for it, and even more unnervingly, there's a phantom-like ship hounding the Fate, crewed by figures in all-black uniforms and dark spectacles. Before long, Lucy's father is killed and Lucy and Max are forced to serve under a well-meaning but insecure United States Navy officer named Oliver Dexter who's all of 12 years old. Lucy and Max must persuade Oliver - a commodore's son who feels like "the very least useful person aboard" - to help them hunt for the weapon that could change the course of the war. One of Milford's strengths is her faith in her readers' ability to figure stuff out, and her obsessions with history, folklore and mechanical contraptions give her brainiac fans plenty to chew on. But in this case, she's gone a little overboard. Like an overdesigned boat burdened by too many gadgets, the opening chapters of "The Left-Handed Fate" are a bit of a slog, with an excess of characters, arcane terminology and puzzles within puzzles. It's hard to lose yourself in the gorgeous scenery when you need to Google something every few pages (what the heck's the difference between a corvette, a frigate, a brig, a sloop and a schooner?). But just when you might be tempted to toss the book overboard, our scrappy gang pulls into port at Nagspeake - the setting for "Greenglass House" more than a century later. In this trippy city, where "metal moves of its own will and entire streets sometimes turn up in different places," the story starts to hum. Milford ramps up the cloak-and-dagger escapades. Through her three heroes, she also sensitively explores the complexities of loyalty, duty and leadership in a way young readers will relate to. We also meet one of the most memorable middle-grade characters in recent memory: the Mad Spinster, a spidery-looking weaver with indigo-hued fingers, lips "stained a purple-red wine color" and a loom that may have answers to the book's mysteries. Though it may be overwrought in its complications, it's impossible not to admire "The Left-Handed Fate" for its epic scope, joyful evocation of life on the high seas and suspenseful mystery. As the Mad Spinster sighs, "There are so few truly wonderful puzzles to be had these days." Here, at least, is one. CATHERINE HONG, a contributing editor at Elle Decor, blogs about children's books at mrslittle.com.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [September 18, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
Though by all rights Lucy's late father's ship, the Left-Handed Fate, should be hers, circumstances have landed her, her crew (including her half brother, Liao), and the schooner in the hands of impossibly young U.S. Navy Lieutenant Oliver Dexter. But Oliver doesn't know that Lucy, Liao, and their friend Max are hunting for pieces of a powerful machine, and once Oliver catches on, he gets in on the search. In painterly prose, Milford follows the foursome as they face the looming War of 1812, a ship that appears out of thin air, and others looking for the same machine components, all while trying to piece together clues left by Max's late father. Though the opening chapters sometimes drag, once the characters get to Nagspeake (the location of Greenglass House, 2014), the story teems with lively characters and a captivating sense of place, all driven along by the engrossing puzzle of the mysterious contraption. Although some story elements don't come together, there are plenty of brilliant, sparkling moments. A colorful, swashbuckling caper full of heart.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Navigating the dangers, depths, and shifting alliances of the high seas is always a tricky affair. Because Lucy Bluecrowne, Maxwell Ault, and Oliver Dexter (pirate's daughter, aspiring natural philosopher, and midshipman-turned-acting prize captain, respectively) are barely teenagers, what might have been merely tricky turns into an undertaking of epic proportions. With settings ranging from the tumultuous Baltimore harbor to the magical fictional port of Nagspeake, this sequel to Milford's Bluecrowne follows the quest for a mysterious ancient engine, a weapon that could perhaps put an end to war. Beautifully written, with careful attention to historical details, the story balances steampunk elements, mythology, and action with plenty of passion, jam, and jokes. The surprising conclusion will astonish and satisfy, despite more than one deus ex machina. Wheeler's textured illustrations add movement and lucidity, making the denser and more difficult to visualize elements of the plot accessible. VERDICT An unusually rigorous romp for lovers of steampunk, mystery, and swashbuckling adventure.-Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The book begins in Baltimore harbor in 1812 with ship-captains daughter Lucy Bluecrowne, her nine-year-old half-brother Liao (a child with Chinese features), and teenage scholar Max Ault aboard the Left-Handed Fate. In a time when England is fighting Bonaparte and America has just declared war on England, Max has hired Captain Bluecrowne to search for an ancient weapon powerful enough to impose peace. With only one of the weapons parts located, the Fate is captured by an American frigate and the captain killed. Twelve-year-old Oliver Dexter, an American midshipman, is given command of the ship to take it into port, but Lucy and Max persuade Oliver to disobey orders and flee to the foreign port of Nagspeake, there to search for the weapons remaining two parts. Milford places so much of the initial action in backstory that readers may fear theyve missed an entire book before this one (and they can read Milfords self-published standalone e-book Bluecrowne for clues), but once past their initial confusion theyll find a strong narrative arc and outstanding thematic development. The spot-on shipboard settings and fast-paced nautical battle sequences owe a conscious debt to Patrick OBrians Aubrey-Maturin novels, but legendary Nagspeake (also featured in the authors Greenglass House, rev. 9/14) -- a home to magical imagery, recurring motifs, and illuminating stories-within-stories -- is a thickly textured place entirely of Milfords own creation. The idea of achieving peace through superior firepower is effectively questioned over the course of the narrative, but it is the human questions of honor, courage, and generosity -- embodied in decisive Lucy, philosophical Max, impish Liao, and dutiful Oliver -- that will leave readers cheering by the books rousing close. anita l. burkam (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
