The Black Canary

Curry, Jane Louise. 2005. The Black Canary.

I don’t know that the author, Jane Louise Curry, would appreciate me calling her book,The Black Canary, odd or strange. But I don’t mean it as an insult. It’s the truth. How many books can you think of that feature a young African-American boy visiting London who just happens to keep traveling back and forth in time? Not just any time in history,either, but Elizabethan England. Our character, James, must learn to interact in Elizabethan London where he performs (not really by choice at first) with the Children of the Chapel Royal. (For that matter, how many YA books can you think of that are about the Children of the Chapel Royal?) The Black Canary is a combination realistic fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction. Other than the fact that I was slightly confused through parts of the Black Canary, I really enjoyed it. What made it confusing for me, is that he would bounce back and forth through time...and the transitions...weren’t always clear to me. I would end one chapter, and then in the next he’d suddenly be back in modern times. And I had somehow missed the transition. That is probably due more to my sloppy reading than the author. But regardless, The Black Canary is an enjoyable read. One I’m glad I stuck with. (For those not keeping up with all the drama on my site, at one time I had sixty books out on my library card. The time came when I had to sit down and choose which books to send back unread, and which ones I’d hold on to a bit longer. I’m glad I chose to keep The Black Canary.)