Kite - Hardcover

Burgess, Melvin

3.44

78 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374342288 ISBN 13: 9780374342289

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2000

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Taylor loves birds and collects eggs. He has the rare opportunity to enhance his collection when a pair of red kites nest nearby. The only problem is, the red kites are extremely rare - only twenty-five are left in the country. Taylor's father, a gamekeeper, is under orders from his boss, the landowner Reg Harris, to kill the kites, who are birds of prey and will go after Harris's grouse population. For Taylor, the temptation also to take the eggs from the kites' nest becomes insurmountable when Harris actually asks him to do the job, even though it is illegal. Pangs of terrible guilt follow, and although Taylor tells Harris he's gotten rid of the incriminating evidence, he secretly salvages and hatches one egg. But as soon as the bird is born, elaborate plans must be made to keep its existence a secret in order to save it from being shot during the approaching hunting season.

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Review:

Imagine being a boy who collects birds' eggs, and discovering that an extremely rare and endangered red kite is nesting in the woods by your own house! This is just the beginning of Taylor's story. The kite is "vermin," as far as malevolent landowner Mr. Harris is concerned, and he wants Taylor to destroy its eggs. The plot thickens, as Taylor battles his warring feelings of loyalty to his father, who must do his job to protect Mr. Harris's pheasants; respect for the beautiful bird; and desire to own the precious egg. When, through a tragedy of errors, a kite chick hatches, Taylor's feelings become even more confused.

This gripping tale is not for the faint of heart. As an environmental message, it is graphically convincing. Baby crows are dropped from the top of a tree and squashed into a pulp, lumpy kite embryos are killed and blown through pinholes in eggs, and a living adult kite is virtually crucified with a nail through her foot. Melvin Burgess's story is compelling, but his writing is surprisingly disappointing. Awkward at times with some pretty unconvincing dialogue, it's hard to imagine how Burgess slipped, especially when Kite is compared to his Carnegie Medal-winning Smack. Still, if one can get beyond the occasional clumsiness in style, it's a fascinating depiction of the British tradition of game keeping for organized "hunts," which more closely resemble slaughter. (Ages 9 and older) --Emilie Coulter

About the Author:

Melvin Burgess is also the author of Smack, which won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize. He lives in Manchester, England.

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