A Band of Angels - Softcover

Thompson, Julian F.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0590431242 ISBN 13: 9780590431248

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks, 1989

Synopsis

When Riley Roux asks Jordan Paradise to join her and Michael on a cross-country trip, they pick up two more passengers and plan for a future that could change the course of history

About this title

From School Library Journal

Grade 9-12 Thompson's attempt to deal with important issues is undermined by unbelievable characters and an improbable plot. Jordan Paradise has lived on the run since his parents' suicide over government interest in their discovery of a super-virus. Riley Roux and Michael Gordon are 16-year-old chums who "adopt" Jordan and then embark on a summer vacation: traveling together, sorting out their lives and discussing a means to nuclear disarmament. Throughout their journey, the three teenagers are the unwitting targets of Eric and Sweets, undercover agents who pursue Jordan and any secrets he might harbor. Thompson does not effectively blend the sublime global disarmament aspirations of his teenagers with their mundane concerns of physical attraction, jealousy and independence. Although the characters may be a band of political innocents with worthy ideals, they are socially precocious: writing their own itinerary, choosing their own companions and determining their own commitments with minimal input from offstage, permissive parents. Tongue-in-cheek asides to readers and an abundance of strong language seem transparent efforts to popularize the novel. Despite the suspense created by Sweets' final decision to save the teenagers from Eric's assassination plan, the overall quality and content of this novel make it a questionable selection. Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School, Durham, N.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Thompson's new novel is stagey and melodramatic, unlike his remarkable debut in The Grounding of Group 6. A woman friend of a couple who commit suicide takes their baby and keeps on the move. She's evading government agents who suspect the two might be hiding papers containing the formulae for a "super-virus." The child's parents have died to prevent its use in germ warefare and the secret is still safe, 14 years later. Then the unofficial guardian of the boy known as Jordan Paradise is killed by a hit-and-run driver and he's alone in a strange town. Riley Ropux witnesses the tragedy and she takes Jordan to her home where he meets a third teenager, Michael. The three get permission from Riley's father to drive across the country, a trip devoted to soul-searching and plans to avert a third World War. On the way, they pick up two more dropouts, a boy and a girl. The "band of angels" are tailed by two FBI men and the story's climax occurs at a confrontation in a wilderness, a scene almost predictable. So is the attraction between Riley and Jordan that idealistic Michael resents, the conflicting views of the pursuers and other plot contrivances.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0590431242
• ISBN 13: 9780590431248
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 296