"In
Allah’s name!" Tewfik cried. "What is this wish you have to
become a godless
savage?"
Gradually,
I stilled my feet. As the drumbeats faded from my mind, I stretched upright and
pulled off the leopard mask. With regret. Great regret. The world had looked
different from behind it. It had looked like the pygmies’ world of Ndura.
"Never ask me to explain this mystery, my brother. I
cannot."
When young Tom Ormsby cons his way onto
the great explorer Henry Morton Stanley’s "Relief of Emin Pasha
Expedition" in 1887, he’s looking for adventure. But he has no idea
what lies ahead of him. From the exotic bazaars of Zanzibar to the mouth of the
Congo River and beyond, Tom soon learns he’s signed on for more than the
rescue of the mysterious Pasha. He’s on a journey through the ravishing
beauty and brutality of a jungle world peopled by slavers, warring tribes,
cannibals, and colonial masters—all jockeying for survival in 19th-century
Africa.
As Karr follows Tom’s remarkable three-year trek, she
raises some provocative questions about slavery, the right of one country to
impose its cultural imperatives on another, and the arrogance that can prevent a
man from achieving his ultimate goal. Startling, scary, and surprising, this
true story takes the reader deep into the heart of the African
past.
KATHLEEN KARR
surprises her readers each time she finishes a book, as no two are alike.
Whether she’s writing about a 15-year-old boy settling in the Carolina
Colony in 1670 (Worlds
Apart) or the U.S. Camel Corps from the viewpoint of a camel in 1856
(Exiled),
she engages and exhilarates her readers.
Born for Adventure
was inspired by a trip to Africa, during which Kathleen canoed the Zambezi,
managing to steer clear of the jaws of crocs and hippos. It gave her a yen
for the Congo. Fortunately, rediscovering the history of the ill-fated
"Relief of Emin Pasha Expedition" filled that need.
Her book,
The
7th Knot, won the 2003 Agatha Award for Best Children’s/Young
Adult Novel, and her titles have been selected for the American Library
Association’s recommended bibliographies, Notable Books for Children and
Best Books for Young Adults. She and her husband, the parents of two grown
children, live in a restored town house in Washington, D.C.
Born for
Adventure
"Karr’s story has
plenty of humor and gives readers a front-row seat in one of Stanley’s
thrilling yet perilous
expeditions." —Kirkus
Reviews, March 1,
2007
"Karr
suffuses this coming-of-age story with a wealth of historical detail and a
steady stream of action, sure to captivate readers who may harbor their own
dreams of
adventure." —Publishers
Weekly, March 19,
2007
"Karr immerses the
reader so thoroughly in the world of the ill-fated "Relief of Emin Pasha
Expedition" that we feel the same oppressive jungle heat that Tom does, and the
same affection for his dark-skinned porters, the same revulsion at the
groundless praises of Stanley's valor, and the same dark irony when it turns out
that Emin Pasha in fact needs no relief and is only destroyed by his
"rescue."" —Children’s
Literature, April
2007
"Karr never lets her
exhaustive research get in the way of her ripping good yarn, narrated in
Tom’s fast-moving and occasionally humorous voice. The incidents Tom
describes often relate to the current problems in many parts of Africa, and this
well-crafted story offers a view of history that will be unfamiliar to most
young
readers." —Booklist,
April 1, 2007
"Pack the
quinine and mosquito netting for a memorable
trip." —Bulletin,
June 2007
"Written by an
award-winning author who did original research, the book offers a genuine
picture of time and place through the eyes of its only fictional character,
engaging and entertaining Tom Ormsby. The reader can share his joys and
troubles, ultimately becoming enlightened about the colonial era and the
underpinnings of today’s African
problems." —VOYA,
August 2007
"Young adult
readers will be intrigued when fictitious 16-year-old Tom enlists as
"general dogsbody" to the 19th century explorer, Henry Morton Stanley.
Tom’s three-year trek through the Congo creates an appealing coming-of-age
novel based on appalling actual
events." —Library
Media Connection, October
2007
