Raven Summer
By Terreece Clarke,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
A great conversation-starter on the impact of violence.
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What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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What's the Story?
Liam and Max start the summer like they did as kids, digging for treasure. They find a knife and later that day a baby. As the summer progresses Max begins to grow up and distant, and, while Liam loses a friend he gains a little sister, and his mother, the artist, gains a new medium, and his father, the writer, gains a new story. Throughout the summer Liam is exposed to both the innocence and violence of life. Torn between the two worlds, set against the backdrop of wars in Iraq and Liberia, Liam discovers just how easy it is to become caught up in the in the war games he imagines. One fateful night, all the elements come together and Liam finds himself desperately acting out a scenario once seen only in his head. After reality and fantasy become blurred one is left to wonder -- if you can imagine it, could you do it?
Is It Any Good?
David Almond's RAVEN SUMMER is a unique find. It weaves a complicated and beautiful story of a child's entrance into the harsh realities of adult life without the maudlin musings of fleeting childhood usually found in coming of age stories. His characters are normal, strange, and endearing. Teens will be interested not only in the comings and goings of Liam, Max, Crystal, Oliver, and Nattrass, they will be interested in what motivates the characters to act in ways that are sometimes inexplicable.
Readers are hit with the very real question of "What are you capable of?" Could a child trained to kill in a far off African country be so different than a child in a first world country with access to violent TV shows, video games, and Internet terrorist videos? This is a great conversation-starter on the realities and impact of violence both at home and abroad. It's also a great pick for teen boys.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence. How does real-life violence desensitize people? Do people still have reactions to the images of war in other countries? How has coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan affected teens? What about videos of the beheading of journalists and other hostages?
One great point in the novel discusses how if you can imagine a thing, you can do that thing. Many people use this in a positive sense, do you think it can be used in a negative sense? Do you think imagining yourself killing people via a video game makes it possible for you to commit violence in real life? Why or why not?
Oliver was a victim of cultural bias. People assumed his original story was untrue -- why? Is it easier to believe the negative things you hear about people when they are different from you? Why?
Book Details
- Author: David Almond
- Genre: Coming of Age
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Delacorte Press
- Publication date: November 10, 2009
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 13 - 17
- Number of pages: 209
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
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