The Walls of Cartagena - Hardcover

Durango, Julia

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1416941029 ISBN 13: 9781416941026

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2008

Synopsis

Calepino was blessed with good fortune. After his mother died giving birth to him on a slave ship, he was taken in by a wealthy woman who gave him every advantage. Then on his thirteenth birthday, Father Pedro, a devout priest, asks Calepino to assist him with the slaves coming into Cartagena. Soon he's fighting seasickness, living in squalor, and cursing every minute. That all begins to change when he meets Mara and Tomi, a mother and son who remind him of his own past.

When Tomi and Mara are sold to a cruel man, Calepino is more determined than ever to find a way to save them. Will this be his chance to change someone else's fortune, or will he put them all in more peril?

Richly detailed and researched, Julia Durango's gripping first novel brings to life what it means to be truly free.

About this title

About the Author:

Julia Durango resides in Ottawa, Illinois, where she wrote a weekly book review column for children. She is the mother of two sons and is the author of Dream Hop, illustrated by Jared Lee,  as well as Pest Fest, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. Her work also includes Go-Go Gorillas, a sequel to Cha-Cha Chimps, both illustrated by Eleanor Taylor and Dream Away, illustrated by Robert Goldstrom. Her first novel The Walls of Cartagena was a Junior Library Guild Selection. Her most recent novel is entitled Sea of the Dead. She is a contributor the Three Silly Chicks blog and lives in Ottawa, Illinois.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4–7—Born on a slave ship, Calepino is an orphan in 17th-century Cartagena. He has been raised by a Spanish noblewoman and acts as a translator for Father Pedro, who takes food, water, and medicine to the captives on the slave ships that dock in the area. On one visit he meets Tomi and his pregnant mother. They are sold to a cruel merchant, and Calepino is determined to help them escape. He has been helping Dr. López, who cares for the patients at the leper colony, and he uses his contact with the doctor to get them away from their brutal master. Then Dr. López is accused of being a Jew and imprisoned. It is, after all, the time of the Spanish Inquisition. The novel ends when readers discover that Calepino has been writing this story for him while he's in prison. Durango tells of the horrors of the slave trade by bringing it down to a more personal level. It's an involving story, but some confusion could result without background knowledge of the Inquisition or the social stigma of contracting leprosy at that time.—Diana Pierce, Leander High School, TX
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1416941029
• ISBN 13: 9781416941026
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160
• Illustrator: Pohrt Tom