Son of Fortune

Gr 9 Up—In this sequel to The Devil's Paintbox (Knopf, 2009), 16-year-old Aiden's adventures continue as he flees the rough lumber camps of the Pacific Northwest to seek a new life in 1860s San Francisco. The action-packed novel opens with Aiden saving a young Swedish sailor from a shark attack and he befriends Christopher, the son of a wealthy businessman. When he wins a ship in a fateful card game, Aiden and his friends journey as business partners to an island off the coast of Peru for a shipment of guano, highly valuable bird droppings used as fertilizer. They discover the slave operation upon which the guano trade is built, and Aiden is morally torn between leaving immediately or making a fortune at the expense of others. Descriptions of the sailing life and the ecology of the island are particularly vivid and sometimes brutal. Add to the mix the story of a kidnapped Chinese nobleman, a tsunami, a stowaway, a murder, and an illicit interracial romance and you've got a gripping historical novel bordering on soap opera. It's easy to forget Aiden is a teenager as he intelligently grapples with one adult dilemma after another. He's a likable survivor, and teens craving a gritty saga with a hint of romance will not be disappointed.—Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library