From School Library Journal
Grade 7-10-Lurlene McDaniel's sequel (BDD, 2000) to Angel of Mercy (BDD, 1999) picks up the story of Heather Barlow, and her family, after she returns from Africa. Amber, a year or two younger than Heather, lacks her sister's focus, faith, and apparent selflessness, and can't understand why Heather is in a hurry to return to the medical assistance work in which she was engaged in Uganda. However, when Heather becomes critically ill and can't travel, Amber decides she'll accompany their physician mother to the missionary outpost where a baby awaits facial surgery. In truth, Amber is bored with school, her friends, her boyfriend, and life in general; going to Uganda in Heather's place is a good excuse to get away for a while. With typical McDaniel flair, Amber finds adventure, love, new depth to herself, and the need to watch someone close to her die. Christina Moore reads this all perfectly, providing voices and accents that bring the multigenerational and international cast of characters to life: the sisters' father is fittingly gruff, their mother sounds exhausted when the plot indicates that she should, Amber's new found flame from Alabama isn't overdone but definitely Southern, and various Ugandans speak somewhat British-inflected and liltingly Swahili-hued English. Religion and politics are both important to the plot, and each receives careful and accessible treatment. A wide range of authentic teen emotions are offered here, making it easy for listeners to identify with a girl who finds herself in most unusual circumstances for someone with her well-to-do American expectations of life.
Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
In this sequel to
Angel of Mercy , missionary Heather Barlow returns home from Uganda feeling shaken and profoundly directionless. She not only witnessed Africa's worst poverty and disease but also fell in love with a fellow missionary, who was killed by rebel soldiers, and helped rescue a baby from war-torn Sudan. That's a lot for any 19-year-old to bear, but the trials continue upon her return. Heather convinces her mother, a plastic surgeon, to return with her to Africa to treat children with malformations. But when Heather becomes ill, her somewhat spoiled younger sister, Amber, goes in Heather's place. Much to everyone's surprise, Amber ably proves her mettle in Africa, but on returning home, she finds Heather at death's door. Readers who favor an emotional novel will relish this one. Although the plot often verges on melodrama, the love between the sisters is realistically portrayed, and Amber's slow maturation is convincing.
Shelley Townsend-HudsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Mass Market Paperback
edition.
