Flight of the Raven - Hardcover

Tolan, Stephanie S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688174191 ISBN 13: 9780688174194

Publisher: HarperTeen, 2001

Synopsis

Elijah Raymond was one of four remarkably gifted children gathered together in an experimental group home called the Ark. In their shared dreams he was always the Raven, flying over the other three. But when the Ark program was discontinued, Elijah ran away.

In Flight Of The Raven, Elijah has been found by a group of environmental terrorist and taken to their snowy woodland hideout. There he meets Amber, the leaders lonely daughter, who insists that radical change justifies the deaths she calls "necessary losses." Unable to escape, Elijah discovers that he can shift into "dreamtime," joining his consciousness with that of creatures who survive in the unforgiving wintry world. Gradually Elijah learns to survive himself. But how can he truly find a home with these violent men -- and how has Amber?

Stephanie S. Tolan follows up her magnificient Welcome To The Ark with the story of EIijah, a boy who is forced to confront the world's cruelty, accept his own mysterious powers -- and help himself and Amber learn to fly free.

About this title

About the Author:

Stephanie S. Tolan is the author of more than twenty-five books for young readers, including Listen!, which won the Christopher Award and the Henry Bergh ASPCA Award. Her New York Times bestselling novel Surviving the Applewhites received a Newbery Honor and was named a Smithsonian Notable Children’s Book, a School Library Journal Best Book for Children, an ALA Booklist Editor’s Choice, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, and an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. Tolan has left her home by the small lake in a big woods of North Carolina and now lives in the Hudson River Valley of upstate New York with a view of the Catskills Mountains and the prospect of wintertime cross country skiing. You can visit her online at www.stephanietolan.com.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 7-10-Amber and her family are forced to flee into the wilderness when her father, the "alpha wolf" of the Free Mountain Militia, orchestrates the largest act of terrorism against the U.S. since the Oklahoma City bombing. Along the way, she is entrusted to care for Elijah, an African-American boy who has run away from a mental institution and been taken hostage by the militia. Elijah, who proved his talents in Tolan's Welcome to the Ark (Morrow, 1996), has the ability to transform his consciousness into objects, animals, and occasionally humans, giving him the talent he needs to be an essential member of the cadre. Amber, while having empathy for him, believes in her father, can rationalize the many "necessary losses" his work creates, and wants to join him in his quest to bring down the system. Ultimately, these plans include the use of a bioweapon to wipe out half the world's population. The world is saved by Elijah's powers, leaving the militia bruised, but not broken. The characters and themes introduced in Welcome to the Ark are so slowly divulged that they're occasionally distracting. Amber and Elijah's actions don't always explain their motivations or understanding of events. The boy's transformation from using his powers to stop violence to assisting in its creation is not fully developed. Characters and ideologies abound and may at once challenge and turn off readers. Some will be disturbed by the remorseless killings that repeatedly occur while others will debate the entire doctrine of the novel, making for a confrontational and thought-provoking read deserving much discussion.

Katie O'Dell, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0688174191
• ISBN 13: 9780688174194
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304