In his novel Redwall, Brian Jacques pits a fearful rat named Cluny, who was thought to be a myth, against a relatively small community of peaceful creatures. However, in these dire times, the creatures of the Abbey surprised Cluny with unexpected strength and will. What Cluny thought would be a swift victory ended up being a slow, gruesome defeat. The transformation of the peaceful creatures of Redwall into formidable fighters was quite amazing and inspiring to see. The qualities that they came to possess seemed to directly combat the dirty tactics deployed by Cluny, and allowed them to achieve victory. The creatures of Redwall were quite formidable, but because the Abbey had preserved peace for so long, that formidability lay dormant for many years. The main character of the book, Matthias, has been aspiring to be like his hero Martin the Warrior, a legendary warrior mouse, since the beginning of his book. However, because of the long-lasting peace that the Abbey has preserved, Matthias was told to push that aspiration aside. Unfortunately, this was soon changed by Cluny’s sudden attack on Redwall. Luckily, Cluny completely underestimated the Redwall Abbey, and perhaps his inflated ego at the start of the conflict is what caused him to lose the war. By not immediately overwhelming the Abbey by force, precious time was bought, which allowed the defenders to set up proper defense; the wall defending the Abbey also contributed to Cluny’s defeat. Under the lead of Matthias, the creatures of Redwall were able to mount a strong defense force that was not only trained in strength but also in will and confidence. With encouraging leaders like Basil Stag Hare, a loquacious hare, the creatures of Redwall were able to keep their spirits up even with immense danger looming in front of them. On the contrary, Cluny’s forces were driven by fear, a bond that was destroyed the instant the fear-instiller – in this case, Cluny – was vanquished. A major reason for Cluny’s loss was the way his army, and that of Redwall, was controlled. The entire reason that Cluny’s army held together was the menacing reputation Cluny had built for himself. Using fear as a cruel form of motivation, it was soon apparent that none of the horde cared for each other; they were like zombies, controlled by the fearsome image of Cluny. The Redwall Abbey, on the other hand, was held together by friendship and trust. There was no one person who controlled them; rather, they naturally banded with each other. While Cluny had all of his soldiers chained to him, Redwall had their creatures bonded with each other. Cluny’s army lacked confidence and will, seeing as Cluny scarcely ever encouraged anyone, but by encouraging each other, the creatures of Redwall were able to edge Cluny’s army out of their beloved Abbey. While Cluny’s army began to despair, for example, after Cluny was forced to rest for three weeks after an injury, even after their tapestry of Martin was stolen and the gates of Redwall were opened, Redwall remained firm. Every person knew they were cared for and had an important role to play, and that increased their motivation and strength. This strategy was far more effective than the cruel, torturous methods of Cluny. In conclusion, the main contributing factor to Cluny’s loss was the way his forces, and those of Redwall, were united. While Cluny’s horde was chained to him, and only him, the creatures of Redwall shared a much stronger bond with each other because they were part of a community; none of which existed with Cluny’s horde. As more and more attacks failed, Cluny’s army began to lose hope and break apart. Many high-ranking creatures in the army were killed off, and the fact that Cluny wanted to have complete control over everyone in his army didn’t make it better. Ultimately, the friendship shared between the creatures of Redwall far outweighed any power fear could invoke. Redwall by Brian Jacques. Firebird, 2002. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
book review
Chasing Vermeer, Reviewed by Aviva, 13
If you like puzzles, coincidences, and art, Chasing Vermeer is the book for you, as it’s full of all three. I’ve always liked secret codes and puzzles, so I was hooked from the very beginning, which is a good sign with books. The book starts out when the same anonymous letter is delivered to three different people. The deliveries all happen on the same night, in the same neighborhood, and the letter asks each person to help solve a crime that “has wronged one of the world’s greatest painters.” The painter referred to is Johannes Vermeer, a famous artist from the sixteen hundreds, and the writer of the letter believes that many paintings attributed to him were actually painted by different people. I’ve only read one other book that mentioned art scandals, but the topic intrigued me, and I knew I was going to like this book. Things get stranger when one of the main characters, Petra, finds a book called Lo!, which is full of strange happenings and coincidences. She shares it with the other main character, Calder. Soon the two eleven-year-olds are finding coincidences and unexplainable happenings everywhere, especially things related to Lo! and Johannes Vermeer. So, when a priceless Vermeer painting disappears, they know only they will be able to recover it. This book has challenged the way I think about things. One example of this is its portrayal of coincidences and their relation to the story. The characters treat coincidences with about as much relevance as facts, and I found this surprising, because I don’t believe in coincidences. Nor do I believe that everything that happens is supposed to happen. I like to think that what I do is what I do because of my choices, not fate’s, so I had a hard time understanding why they would think that way. But I like thinking in new ways, and this book is full of new ways to see things. What’s interesting is that Blue Balliett, the author, seems to be suggesting that the coincidences in the book are meant to be, but they aren’t necessarily important to the storyline. So you might notice themes that repeat themselves, and you might think they’re important, but nothing comes of them. It’s sort of like some of the clues don’t matter—still, they’re there, and that’s what matters. Not many books work that way, where some things are just there because, and that’s what I love most about it! Just like some things seem to be clues but aren’t, other things that don’t seem important are often vital to the storyline. I sometimes had to reread certain parts to make sure I understood what was going on, because it’s a very complex story, even if it has fairly simple language. While this story is unpredictable, it is not unbelievable. When a book is so unbelievable it could never happen, I find it hard to identify with the characters. Petra and Calder are realistically rendered, and I could easily understand them and their ways of thinking. Petra loves to write, like me, and Calder likes puzzles and codes, and he daydreams a lot, which I have to admit I do frequently! Both are intrigued by the patterns of coincidence, as many people are. Altogether, this is a very believable yet complicated story, and I’m not sure I’ll ever read anything quite like it again. Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. Scholastic Corporation, 2004. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Farewell to Manzanar, Reviewed my Margaret, 13
Farewell to Manzanar, a memoir by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, is a compelling and insightful look into the past. In 1941, approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were evacuated into ten internment camps. The author, one of the people placed in the camps, tells of the times of hardship and discrimination during World War II. Grappling with issues ranging from loyalty between countries to food and housing to family separation, this book will give you a look into how a large family facing hard times perseveres through it and gets back to where they once were before they were knocked down. When people think of World War II, most think of the Holocaust and the discrimination and oppression of Jews. They think of how Germany’s cruel leader tortured innocent people. But most people won’t think of the hatred Americans felt towards the Japanese after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. And not only the hatred they felt towards Japanese people living in Japan, but hatred towards Japanese Americans, too. Because of the bombing, the United States government considered every Japanese resident of the United States suspicious. The government moved their very own Japanese citizens, people contributing to their country, into camps out of fear that these Japanese Americans were working with Japan. The amount of discrimination the Japanese Americans faced before and after evacuating was astronomical. Most people never think about this. But after reading Houston’s book, everyone will see, buried in history, the injustice that Japanese Americans faced throughout this era. This book made me see the harsh reality of the world. Even years after the camps were shut down, people still looked down on the Japanese. They thought they were strange and kept their children away from them. It was hard for Jeanne to make friends in high school and hard for her to embrace her culture. For me, as someone who is of a different culture than most of the United States population, it angers me to see these actions of hatred towards the Japanese. This book should forever serve as a reminder to the nation to never do this again, to never lock someone up or suspect someone solely based on their race. Through seeing how this rash action driven by fear affected so many children and families in a bad way, everyone should learn to never judge a book by its cover. Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
