Customer Reviews

The Traitors' Gate (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Hardcover))

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THE TRAITORS' GATE is everything you'd expect from an Avi novel--a well-realized historical adventure, plenty of suspense, and lots of surprises along the way. Whether you're intrigued by Victorian England, you like a good mystery, or you're just looking for a book that will keep you guessing right until the final chapter, you'll find something to enjoy here.

It is the mystery of THE TRAITORS' GATE that will keep readers turning the pages. If 14-year-old John Huffam wants to save his family from destitution, he must find a scheming traitor, who engineered his father's arrest in order to force Mr. Huffam to sell the military secrets he has memorized. Unfortunately for John, he has more suspects than he can count, and every piece of information he learns raises as many questions as answers. Even with the help of a Scotland Yard inspector and a scruffy street girl who knows all the secrets of London, the task seems close to impossible. Yet John pushes on, through multiple twists and turns, to an ending that is satisfying yet unpredictable.

Underneath the mystery, however, there is a lot more to the story. At heart, it is a tale of lost innocence and growing up. John must come to terms with the fact that many of the adults in his life, including his father, are deeply flawed. It is up to him to choose: allow himself to sink to the levels of his role models, or do his best to hold himself above them and be the best person he can be, despite his circumstances. He must also decide who to turn away from, and, more importantly, who to forgive. For nothing in THE TRAITORS' GATE is completely black and white. Every character has virtues as well as vices, and most are simply doing what they think is best for them, with believable (if not always sympathetic) motives. This depth with stick with readers long after they've discovered the answer to the mystery.

Making the story even more engaging is the vivid depiction of Victorian London. Descriptions are full of detail and life. Readers will feel as though they've taken a trip there rather than just reading about it. Avi reveals the full range of London experiences, from the lush homes of the rich to the squalid rooms of the very poor, and everything in between. Though some of the laws and customs of this period will be unfamiliar to readers, explanations are easily worked into the story as John learns things about his society even he didn't realize.

If you have a chance to pick this one up, don't hesitate. THE TRAITORS' GATE will stir the mind and the heart equally, and entertain readers along the way.

Reviewed by: Lynn Crow

I love historical fiction, and this book is great for kids who want to imagine what it was like to live in another time and place! The story is also a clever mystery. Real people and places are strewn into the fictional book, so you can actually learn from it as well!

""By the end of this week," said my father, as if speaking of a change in weather, "there's a possibility I shall be sent to prison."" - John Horatio Huffam

With these few words, spoken with his characteristic mildness, John Huffam's father ignites a veritable firestorm within the household - and John finds himself at the very center. With his father locked away in debtor's prison, it seems that everyone turns to fourteen-year-old John to make things right. But, as John quickly learns, there is a great deal more to this business that his father's (albeit alarmingly large) gambling debt. Intrigue, confusion, family squabbles and the possibility that his father might be involved in treason all face John as he attempts to do what is best for his family. Ranked against him? A cantankerous old great-aunt, a vindictive solicitor/failed amateur actor, his sister's French suitor, a mysterious Irishman, a bully of a schoolmaster and not one, but two, Scotland Yard Inspectors. On his side? No one, except a streetwise and cocky orphan known as Sary the Sneak. Surely John is in over his head, but he can only do what he must and leave the rest to fate.

In his homage to Charles Dickens, Avi brings to vivid life the mid-nineteenth century London the great author knew so well and clearly loved. The city is resplendent is its fog, coal smoke, twisted alleys and cobbled streets. In young John Huffam, the reader discovers a character that can truly claim to be the natural heir to David Copperfield, Philip Pirrip and Oliver Twist. Even the style of the narrative of this skillfully rendered novel brings Dickens to mind. Wonderfully done, thoroughly engaging and a delight from beginning to end.

I hope Avi never stops writing books. It's no wonder there are so many books by this guy - he can really write!