Star Turn

Gr 6–8—Ollie, 12, belongs to a professional juvenile troupe that tours England in the 1930s. He revels in his work but lives in fear of his father and manager, Mr. Pigott. Ralph, a spoiled rich boy, glimpses Ollie through a train window and notices their striking resemblance. Egged on by his new French friend, he jumps off his train to find answers to this doppelgänger mystery. A comedy of errors ensues as the two boys continually miss meeting each other by the narrowest of margins. Various subplots concerning the Star Turns and numerous secret identities unwind as Ollie and Ralph confront their past and forge a new future together. Jones's engaging descriptions of life in a pantomime troupe liven up a somewhat muddled story. Some of the many threads seem unlikely or are not properly embedded in the plot, and characters are introduced and discarded in such a willy-nilly fashion that they appear to exist solely for inclusion in the denouement. Dialogue jumps from topic to topic in an odd fashion. The conclusion, which explains Ollie's parentage and presents him with an escape from the troupe, is ludicrously improbable. Finally, the coarse language and subject matter are out of sync with the book's target audience. In spite of the adventures galore, readers may wish to turn instead to Noel Streatfeild's "Shoes" titles (Random) for British stories set in an old-fashioned entertainment world.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT