Red Midnight [Hardcover]

Ben Mikaelsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2002 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

When guerrilla soldiers strike Santiago's village, they shoot at everyone in their path. Dos Vías is on fire, and the night glows red. "Take the cayuco and sail to the United States of America. Now go!" Santiago's uncle Ramos tells him, and Santiago, twelve, and his four-year-old sister, Angelina, flee.

With a map, a machete, and very little food, Santiago and Angelina set sail in their uncle Ramos's sea kayak, built for just such an escape, but not for a sailor who is only a boy. Santiago heads for the United States on a voyage that will take them through narrow channels guarded by soldiers, shark, infested waters, and days of painful heat and raging storms. Santiago knows that he and Angelina probably will die trying to make the voyage, but they certainly will die at the hands of rebels or government soldiers if they do not try.

In this tale of courage, survival, and triumph, Ben Mikaelsen introduces readers to a danger and fear that is far too real for many children, and he reminds us of the responsibility and power that the world's richest nation bears to help end it.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-When soldiers burn his Guatemalan village and kill his family, 12-year-old Santiago escapes with his 4-year-old sister, Angelina. Following the instructions of his dying uncle, he makes his way to Lake Izabal, where he takes his uncle's small sailing canoe and begins a terrifying journey north and across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. The siblings face starvation and dehydration; lack of sleep; strong sun, wind, and waves; and their own fears and sorrows to win their game of Staying Alive. The present-tense narrative suggests the speech of someone whose first language is not English, and Santiago's first-person account makes the adventure even more immediate. The opening scene is memorable, as the burning of the village turns the night sky red. However, the necessary flashback to explain how a mountain boy learned rudimentary sailing and the almost unbelievable details of the children's trip between their village and their uncle's home give readers pause, rather than pulling them into the suspense of the story. At times, the anger in the author's message almost overwhelms the action. "The rich have no conscience," their uncle's friend says. The first Americans they encounter call them "stinking boat people" and tell them to go away from their private beach club. In an afterword, the author explains that the soldiers who massacred villagers were armed by the U.S. government as part of our fight against communism. Thus, we share the blame for such atrocities. In spite of the heavy-handed message, readers who persevere through the first third of the book will be rewarded with a terrific survival story.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

“A terrific survival story.” (School Library Journal )

“Fans who expect a gripping tale of overcoming dangers, will not be disappointed.” (Kirkus Reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Rayo; 1 edition (April 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380977451
• ISBN-13: 978-0380977451
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,270,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Mikaelsen has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writers Golden Spur Award. His novels have won critical acclaim, as well as several state reader's choice awards. These novels include Rescue Josh McGuire, Sparrow Hawk Red, Stranded, Countdown, Petey, and Touching Spirit Bear. Ben's articles and photos appear in numerous magazines around the world. Ben and his wife, Melanie, live in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, with a 700-pound black bear they have adopted and raised.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Red Midnight, September 20, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Red Midnight (Paperback)

Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen is about a boy and his little sister who try to sail the ocean from Guatemala to Florida through storms and the burning sun. Santiago, who is twelve, and his little sister Angelina, who is four, sail the ocean by themselves in a small cayuco, or sea kayak, for more than 20 days. The story takes place in 1981 and is fiction but the military killing thousands of people in Central America during the 1980s is true and really happened.

Santiago's mom woke him up at night and she tells him that the soldiers were here and to run away with his youngest sister Angelina. Santiago was the oldest out of 2 brothers and 2 sisters including Angelina. Santiago ran out of the hut with his sister. He sees the soldiers burning the homes and killing people in his village. He gets behind some bushes to hide with Angelina where his uncle Ramos was lying. His uncle tells him to take the cayuco he built to Florida to tell everyone what is happening and to take the compass in his shirt with him. Santiago got up and some soldiers saw him. Santiago takes Angelina's hand and just ran as fast as he could into the forest where he loses the soldiers. He looks back in the direction of where his village is and he sees that the sky looks red from the fire. (Red Midnight) He still had to get to his Uncle Ramos's home which is still far away to get to the cayuco. Santiago and his sister ride a horse they found and ride in the back of the cars until they got to his home. They went inside and fell asleep. A man was standing over them asking who they were when they woke up. Santiago saw that the man's clothes were raggedy so he thought he was an indigeno also and told him that Ramos was his uncle and that he told him to take his cayuco to Florida when the soldiers came to his village. His name was Enrique and told him that he would help him and to wait there until he comes back. Later, Enrique and his wife Silvia brought them food to take with them and Enrique sailed with Santiago until they reached the Gulf and showed him how the sail and gave him tips and told him that the trip could take about 20 days.

I liked this book because it was exciting and I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what would happen next. I would recommend this book to everybody because I know for sure that anyone who reads this book will like it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Red Midnight, November 17, 2011

By 

Student - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Midnight (Paperback)

Red Midnight is about a 12 year old boy named Santiago and his 4 year old sister Angelina navigating their way to Florida via ocean. They spend over 20 days together in a small cayuco with little food, little water and are exposed to scorching sun and a couple bad storms. The reason he is sailing across the ocean is because his village, Dos Vias, was burned down by the military. His uncle tells him to go to his farm and take his cayuco across Lake Izabel and into the ocean. He gives him directions and then makes him leave before getting shot by the military. After making their way across the ocean they land on the Miami beach and are picked up and taken to the hospital. At the hospital they are cleaned up.
I dont want to reveal any scenes but it's a great and surprising book. I would recommend it to all readers.

5.0 out of 5 stars best book ever!, February 23, 2011

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Midnight (Kindle Edition)

This is my all time favorite book! It teaches a wonderful lesson especially to kids and is definetly a tear jerker mosty because of angelina and also santiago. I think it is really interesting and I hope that anybody who reads this will love it