The Ghost of Pont Diable

Thirteen-year-old Bois Sec and his uncle BoBo, who travel a Louisiana bayou trading goods from their houseboat, meet a mysterious old woman who claims to know where the pirate Jean Laffite buried a chest full of gold.

Gr 5-8--Thirteen-year-old Bois Sec and his nonc (uncle) BoBo go on a treasure hunt through the haunted Louisiana swamps and bayous, hoping to find Pirate Jean Lafitte's gold. The boy is searching for adventure and maturity, while his uncle seeks to face his fears of a lifetime. Each gains from the quest, although the treasure remains elusive. Despite a wealth of fascinating information about the Cajun people and how they lived and spoke circa 1893, the novel is forced and unfocused. Several incidents serve only to illustrate characteristics of Cajun life rather than to further the story line. The book also suffers from a lack of a clear point of view; readers sometimes see things through Bois Sec's eyes and often through BoBo's. Rice's pen-and-ink line drawings enhance the spooky tale, but the treasure map is not included. Swamp spirits (feu follets) invade the book and peek out several times from the text, wreaking small bits of havoc now and then, adding an original fillip to the format. An ambitious, though not entirely successful look at these colorful people and their way of life.

Judith Constantinides, East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.