1. The journal format of this gripping adventure really pulls you into David's life in the early 1900s.  The secret souvenirs and momentos, the maps, notes, diagrams and black and white drawings with their childlike style give the story a much more authentic feel and add extra interest for the reader. We liked the quite formal writing style which seems very much in keeping with the historic period David's story is set in.  The first person narration helps the reader experience very clearly the difficulties and hardships the settlers faced as they tried to make a new life for themselves in New York at the turn of the last century.  David is such an interesting and realistic character we always wanted to know what would happen to him and how things would work out.  It was interesting to see the other side of the American Dream with its gang culture, crime and poverty. This is a creative and informative book and we hope Richard Platt writes more historical stories as engrossing and realistic as this one.

By Cramlington Learning Village, Northumberland