The year is 1924... Michael MacInnes is a cleaver and rebellious sixteen year old orphan who is accepted to a boy's only boarding school called Stoney Batter. At the time, Stoney Batter was one of the few schools with a letter-press and Michael wants desperately to write poetry for the school paper, but is rejected. Michael's school life may not seem very promising, but all that changes when he meets a mysterious woman who tells him that his poetry will receive great notoriety and he will soon fall in love with a beautiful girl. Michael is skeptical at first, but the predictions soon come true when he publishes a popular underground magazine expressing his controversial views on the school's religious practices and meets a girl from another nearby school. Jeff Carney's The Adventures of Machael MacInnes contains many elements that define the period such as bootlegging and an aerial blimp rescue. Michael is a character who is willing to stand up for what he believes in even if it means cruel retaliation from the school's Dean Reverend and some of the other students.
I really enjoyed how this book takes place in 1924, and addresses many topics that are considered quite controversial even today such as homosexuality and atheism. It's not often that an author comes around who's daring enough to delve into the complex issues many authors dare not write about. I hope that teens who read this book will find it an eye opening and mind freeing experience. Jeff Carney has created a great piece of historical fiction with a very modern twist that many teens can identify with. I look forward to any books Jeff Carney writes in the future and hope to be one of the first to be waiting in line to buy his next work of fiction.
Content:mature reader
Rating (0 - 10 scale): 7
Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Navarre, Florida USA
