In Downing's far-fetched debut novel for children, 13-year-old orphan and narrator Leonard Smith (called Nard), born without a left hand, turns out to be the "reincarnation" of Leonardo da Vinci. The novel begins realistically enough, as orphaned Nard finds a loving foster family in cantankerous pig farmer Anna, her mentally disturbed nephew, Farley, and Farley's daughter, Julie. Financial woes threaten their home as Anna battles vandals and Julie, a dancer, struggles against a back injury. Enter Leonardo da Vinci's dismembered hand ("I looked in that direction and saw a Hand. It didn't surprise me.... I relaxed, watching the hand try to squeeze under the door"). The hand communicates via backwards writing and drafts intricate drawings of a flying machine for a contest that yields prize money enough to alleviate Anna's worries (and its massages also heal Julie's back). Several scenes defy logic, such as a fight in which the hand writes lengthy replies as a raging Nard lunges after it with a mallet. Much of the novel is told instead of shown (e.g., critical information about Julie and her father are conveyed through a phone conversation between Nard and his social worker). Most problematic is the comparison of Nard to the esteemed Renaissance man, for while Nard seems resourceful and several adult characters repeatedly remark upon Nard's brilliance, the protagonist's own observations do not exhibit extraordinary intelligence. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 6-8-Orphan Leonard Smith, 13, has bounced from one bad foster home to another. Then crusty old Anna Swedenborge, whose old-fashioned Colorado pig farm is surrounded by new, upscale lakeside homes, takes him under her nurturing wing, along with her 13-year-old grandniece Julie and Julie's Dad, Farley. Although Nard was born without a left hand, he takes to the farm chores immediately. Julie, a talented dancer and gymnast, needs a back operation that the family cannot afford. Farley, whose already weak mind gets worse when he drinks, tries to rob a bank to get the money. As if this weren't enough for an interesting novel, Nard encounters a disembodied, but very agile, 500-year-old Hand that explains, via some flowery and articulate mirror writing, that Nard is the reincarnation of Leonardo da Vinci and that his destiny is to "achieve the miracles you set out to accomplish centuries ago." With the help of Vinci, as the Hand calls itself, Nard comes up with a complex and artistic hybrid of unicycle and hang-glider to win a contest with a $100,000 prize. There is enough to pay for Julie's operation and save the farm, or set Nard on a road to lifetime wealth. None of the adults see Vinci, but Nard and Julie treat its appearance and abilities matter-of-factly. Readers will need the same willing suspension of disbelief. Most of the characters, settings, and themes are realistic and empathetic, but as the plot develops, it teeters between realism and fantasy without much explanation or justification.-Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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