 In 1934, a young man named Vango on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Accused of murder, pursued by police and mysterious others, Vango finds that proving his innocence involves uncovering secrets from his past, taking him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests in a hyper-coloured spy-thriller with a backwards-and-forwards timeline. Part of the book’s charm involves historic figures turned into characters – like Hugo Eckener (commander of the Graf Zeppelin) who de Fombelle has written as a friend of Vango and as a quick-witted protester to Hitler’s increasing regime. Snippets of story are also told from the perspective of a young girl who turns out to be Stalin’s daughter. These historic guess-who’s never felt clunky. With a larger-than-life protagonist, Vango will appeal to lovers of daring escapades. The mystery to his identity unravels in the sequel, Vango, Book 2, A Prince Without A Kingdom, published in 2105. ew |
| Title: Vango: Between Sky and Earth Author: Timothee de Fombelle Publisher: Candlewick Press. Somerville, Massachusetts Copyright: 2014 Original language: French Translator: Sarah Ardizzone Original title: Vango: Entre ciel et Terre Original publisher: Gallimard Jeunesse Original copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-0-7636-7196-9 Paperback pages: 421 Age range: 12 up Genre: Historical fiction Book setting: France, Germany, Mediterranean Islands, Russia, Scotland Author’s ethnicity: French Author’s residence: Paris, France Awards: Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2014, 2012 IBBY Honor List Subjects: Adventure, Fugitives, Identity, Mystery, Nazi, Priests, Voyages, World War II, Zeppelin |
Vango: Between Sky and Earth
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