In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known. Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.
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Medina Hill is a captivating and unforgettable story of friendship, bravery, and justice.
I really loved reading this book because it had a sort of old fashioned yet modern voice to it which I thought gave the book a timeless feel. This chronicle of Dominic’s journey to bravery with the help of his newly found hero, Lawrence of Arabia, is simple but detailed. Everything in Medina Hill is excitingly fresh from the Romany gypsies to the mysterious coves of Zennor, Cornwall. The odd and charming crowd living at Medina Hill is probably the best thing in this novel. Otto, the over zealous thriller writer, is my favorite out the bunch; but all of them are just as lovable.
Though told from a eleven year old boy’s point of view, Medina Hill can target an a “juvenile” as well as older audience because of its coming-of-age themes and seasoned perspective. Combining adventure, history, matchless characters, Kent has done an extraordinary job on creating her first novel. I can only hope she has more stories to share.
Overall, Medina Hill’s ageless narrative of justice and bravery is sure to capture readers of all ages. I highly recommend!
*Trilby Kent was born in Toronto, Ontario and grew up cities on both sides of the Atlantic. After completing degrees at Oxford and The London School of Economics, she worked in the rare books department at a promient auction house before turning to writing feature articles for publications in Europe and North America. She now lives in London, England. Medina Hill is her first novel.*
|Pages: 170|Year Published: October 2009|Publisher: Tundra|
|Genre: Historical fiction, 1900s, friendship, coming of age|
|Age Group: YA, ages 11+|Content: None|
|Enjoyed It: 5/5|Content Rating: 5/5|Cover: 5/5|
|Overall|
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