Out of the Dark [Hardcover]

Welwyn Wilton Katz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1996 | Age Level: 11 and up | Grade Level: 6 and up

After the tragic loss of Ben Elliot's mother, his father moves him and his younger brother Keith to a tiny village on Newfoundland's isolated northern peninsula. Ben's father had been born and brought up there, but Ben hates it. He's had to leave his friends in the city, and he's determined not to like anything or anyone in the new place. The kids in the village resent his attitude, and dangerous tensions rise. The only thing that makes the place at all bearable for Ben is its nearness to the Viking settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows, where he finds comfort in the ancient myths and sagas his mother had loved and shared with him. He revives his childhood game of imagining he is Tor, a young Viking shipbuilder. But as the Tor game grows increasingly real and harder to control, Ben discovers that the lines between past and present, and fantasy and reality, are beginning to blur, with frightening consequences. Seamlessly weaving Viking mythology and history with the present, this book is a deeply moving story about coming to terms with grief and forgiveness. It is Welwyn Wilton Katz's most emotionally powerful novel yet.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A boy's coming to terms with the death of his mother is the crux of this slow-paced but thoughtful story. Ben's father attempts to start a new life by moving from Ottawa to a small, coastal town in Newfoundland. To 13-year-old Ben, however, the move means a further loss of the familiar; furthermore, the townsfolk seem insular, suspicious and, in many ways, backward. A local historical Viking settlement, L'Anse aux Meadows, proves at first a worthy diversion but soon fuels an obsessive game that Ben plays out entirely in his imagination, casting himself as Tor, a Viking shipbuilder. Katz (Time Ghost) alternates Ben's real life with scenes from the Tor game, which are based on Ben's reading of the Vinland sagas and passages from Norse mythology. Unfortunately, the formality in language, the myriad Scandinavian names and uneven story lines make the Tor scenes difficult to follow. Ultimately they serve as little more than regular interruptions to Ben's "real" story, which is resolved in a powerful final scene?perhaps the book's finest moment, and one worth waiting for. Ages 11-14.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8?A thoughtful, affecting story about love, loss, pride, and understanding. Ben Elliot's nightmares come out of the dark following his mother's murder, but so do his soothing daydreams, which are based on the Norse sagas and legends he and his mother read together. He imagines himself to be Tor, master shipbuilder and part of the first Viking settlement in northern Newfoundland. With his father and brother, he has just moved from Ottawa to the poor and isolated fishing village where his father grew up. His brother is befriended by a group of local kids, but Ben is unable to make friends because of his own unhappiness. He retreats more and more into his daydreams until a final confrontation forces him to reevaluate the world around him as well as the world inside his head. Segments of Norse legends and paragraphs describing the lives and activities of the Viking settlers are italicized and slipped into the narrative whenever Ben slips into his daydreams. There are parallels for him and readers to discover between the encounters of the Viking settlers and the natives and Ben's own experiences with the Newfoundland locals, leading to the day when he learns that he can love and honor the past while appreciating the present. An author's note explains at length the archaeological, historical, and legendary basis of various parts of the story. The book's message about the interdependence of people in families, communities, and even chance encounters is an important one, skillfully related.?Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: McElderry Books (November 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689809476
• ISBN-13: 978-0689809477
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,869,589 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Coming Out of the Fog, May 5, 2001

By 

Stella (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Dark (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a parallel story of a boy named Ben and the struggles of Tor, Viking shipbuilder. Ben is recovering from the recent changes in life: death of his mother in a foggy parking lot in Florida and the recent move to dad's home in Newfoundland. The reader is intertwined in the two tales sometimes finding relevancy and at other times struggling to put the two together. I read through the story of the Vikings and concentrated on the story of Ben. An intriguing story that entices you into finding out what really happened on that foggy night in Florida.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not fully developed, June 17, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of the Dark (Hardcover)

The writing is good and the story is strong, but the connection between Ben and Tor is not fully explained, and the reader is never exactly sure whether Tor existed. There are some passages where "the game seems to be getting too real", and these are never elaborated on. I was disappointed because the plot summary on the back cover made me think this was going to be more of a psychic/fantasy/ghost story; instead, it's realistic fiction about a boy who just happens to imagine that he is a Viking sometimes. If that's what you want, then read this book, but if you're looking for a fantasy look elsewhere.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A scary story about two girls, March 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of the Dark (Hardcover)

Out of the Dark, by Betty Ren Wright she wrote a book about a, girl named Jesse who moves into a house which her grandmother used to live in. Jesse finds a diary in her grandmother Ôs house. Jesse finds out all about her grandmotherŐs house. This book is about a mystery and also about ghost, it is good for teachers and students who like scary and mystery books. The author, Betty Ren Wright decided that at age 7 she wanted to become an author. After graduating in 1949, she became a editorial teacher. Gradually she became into liking children books. She soon got married and had children then gradually,she also became a grandmother. One reason why people would like this book is because it was easy, and also I love mystery books. A really good scene was when a ghost was trying to let her fall, when she fell down she saw a ghost looking at her face. Another reason why readers enjoy this this book is because itŐs scary and I like scary books.