The Bomb - Hardcover

Theodore Taylor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152008675 ISBN 13: 9780152008673

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1995

Synopsis

When the U.S. government decides to test atomic bombs on the island of Bikini Atoll, its residents are told to relocate for only two years, but sixteen-year-old Sorry Rinamu believes that the true danger is being hidden from them.

About this title

About the Author

THEODORE TAYLOR (1921-2006), an award-winning author of many books for young people, was particularly known for fast-paced, exciting adventure novels. His books include the bestseller The Cay, Timothy of the Cay, The Bomb, Air Raid--Pearl Harbor!, Ice Drift, The Maldonado Miracle, and The Weirdo, an Edgar Award winner for Best Young Adult Mystery.

Reviews

Grade 6-10?Sorry Rinamu is a teenager who lives on Bikini Atoll. Shortly after the Americans liberate his island in 1944, the Americans decide to use it as a site for atomic testing. With the promise that people could return to their island in two years?and contrary to the objections of Sorry's Uncle Abram, who argues that it would never again be safe to inhabit?the islanders agree to the plan. When Abram dies suddenly, Sorry vows to fulfill his uncle's intention to stop the tests and is joined by several others. But a serious misjudgment leads the young man and his companions to be blown up during the test. Taylor takes readers on an absorbing excursion, offering vivid descriptions, rich details of Micronesian culture, and a poignant contrast between the peaceful tranquility of the Marshall Islands and the industrialized West. The plot moves briskly with the tension of heroic confrontation. Readers will be challenged with the issues of war, the ethics of nuclear weapons, and the destruction of ancient cultures.?Tim Rausch, Crescent View Middle School, Sandy, UT
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 1946, Taylor (The Cay) served aboard the USS Sumner, part of a naval team that set the stage for post-war atomic and hydrogen-weapons testings near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific-experiences at the crux of this heart-wrenching novel. As Taylor tells it, the Bikini natives live simply in accordance with age-old customs, taking all they need to subsist from the land and the sea. World War II intrudes when Japanese soldiers establish a weather station in their pristine village. Then, when U.S. Marines capture the island in the "Battle" of Bikini (a misnomer, since the Japanese killed themselves rather than be taken prisoner), the islanders hold a celebration. Little do they know that the same government that has liberated them from the hated Japanese will shatter the peace forever, convincing them to vacate their idyllic residence, placing them in the media's invasive, insensitive spotlight and rendering their homeland uninhabitable. Three very real and likable characters-a courageous 14-year-old boy; his outspoken uncle, who after years away returns to the island with insight into modern society; and the island's perceptive schoolteacher-underscore the tragedy. A haunting, soundly researched work. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7^-10. Sorry will soon turn 14, the traditional age for becoming a man on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific. The Japanese occupation has made his life and the lives of the other islanders more difficult, with the constant threat of violence and demands for food. The "kindly" Americans who rescue the island from the Japanese decide that the place will be perfect for testing their new weapon, the atom bomb. The islanders agree to move for a time to another island while the Americans make their preparations, but Sorry and his uncle are convinced that the move is not as temporary as other islanders believe. When Uncle Abram dies of a heart attack, Sorry decides to carry out his uncle's plan: he will paint his boat red and stop the bombing. At the beginning of each chapter, Taylor enumerates a step in the history of the bomb, building tension by presenting historical facts side by side with the fictional tale until the book's devastating conclusion. He ends with a "factual epilogue" that describes the results of the first bomb test, the failure of the new island to support the Bikinians, and the islanders' aborted attempt to return to their home in 1969. Taylor avoids the pitfall of making the islanders saintly and their life idyllic, letting readers know that they were ordinary people whose heritage and home were stripped from them. An author's note tells about Taylor's own visit to Bikini as an officer on the USS Sumner at the time the island was being prepared. Writing simply but powerfully, he has passed his memories on to generations who only associate bikini with swimsuit. Susan Dove Lempke

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152008675
• ISBN 13: 9780152008673
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Gwenda Kaczor
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 197