Benjamin Dove
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
As an adult, Benjamin Dove looks back upon a summer of his childhood that was to change his life forever. A summer when his new friend Roland, seemingly descended from the knights of the past, encourages him to stand up for himself and for those he loves. A summer when he and his friends formed the Order of the Red Dragon, giving them a sense of identity
and purpose in their turbulent world, for justice against injustice. And a summer when such innocent childhood games were to be torn apart by an almost inevitable tragedy.
Benjamin Dove is a brilliantly conceived work of fiction, tinged with both light and dark humour. Disturbing themes are explored, from bullying to child abuse to gang rivalry, yet there is always a sense of the child's unbreakable spirit.
Benjamin Dove is a timeless prose that explores such perennial and poignant themes that it leaves one feeling like they have just read a book destined to be a modern-day classic.
Shortlisted for Best Book of the Year, United States Board on Books for Young People, 2008
International Board on Books for Young People Award (IBBY)
The Icelandic Children's Book Award
Reykjavik City Children's Book Award
"Benjamin Dove is a remarkable story of emotional depth. There are no simple solutions, as in life itself. A brilliantly conceived tale of fantasy and fiction" Damon Albarn
"This elegiac coming-of-age novel unfolds lyrically and retrospectively reaches across place and time to evoke the complexities of friendship, retribution and the loss of innocence." Publisher's Weekly (Starred review)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
First published in Iceland in 1995, this elegiac coming-of-age novel explores the moral ambiguities that arise out of attempts to right an injustice. Twelve-year-old Benjamin and his two best friends, Jeff and Manny, play in "the Ground" the playground in their shabby neighborhood guarded against bullies by the watchful Grandma Dell, who lives next to it.When a new kid, Roland, moves in, he impresses the boys with the Scottish knights in his ancestry and by his passion for heroic deeds. But Roland's effort to stand up to Howie, a bully with a "pitch black" soul, ends with Howie setting fire to Roland's clothes and Grandma Dell calling in the police. Events rapidly escalate, and before long there are two groups of "knights" in the neighborhood: the Order of the Red Dragon, led by Roland, and the Order of the Black Feather, made up of violent boys plus Jeff, who has been drummed out of Roland's crew. While the good accomplished by the Red Dragon is good indeed, it does not assuage the characters' grief or guilt for the tragedy that ensues. The story unfolds lyrically and retrospectively in Benjamin's voice, occasionally shifting into other characters' perspectives. With its redemptive ending, this moving novel reaches across place and time to evoke the complexities of friendship, retribution and the loss of innocence. Ages 10-14.
