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A review by dark_reader
The White Mountains by John Christopher
3.0
I picked up this series of paperbacks long ago at a friends-of-library book sale because they looked classic and vaguely familiar, and suitable for seeding my home library with things for my kids to possibly discover. That hasn't happened (and not likely to now) and my own reading has been overdue.
Its closest comparison is The Chrysalids, published a decade earlier and far superior in terms of mid-20th century dystopian sci-fi for young readers. The White Mountains still has its qualities, however. It's not hard to picture it taught in school, in a time and place that this somewhat bland British boys' journey was deemed sufficient for such. It has a simplicity to it but will still test early reading comprehension, such as identifying the scientific concepts and technologies that "Beanpole" is rediscovering. At the same time it lends itself to a depth of character analysis and discussion suitable to primary school readers. This doesn't mean characters are engaging, just that they bear discussion, like why the reader thinks the narrating main character is such a petty, jealous, self-centered whiner who is chronically ungrateful for his companions carrying him the whole way.
In terms of dystopian fiction, it's vague about the supposed negative impacts of rule by the Tripods and being Capped. There is a vague conception of loss of freedom, but this is not truly demonstrated in the book.
I suppose in an earlier age, young readers may have been captivated with the characters' journey across lands to reach the White Mountains; 13-year-old boys on their own, sleeping rough, stealing and gathering food. The landscape descriptions are lovely and potentially new reading territory for many, but dull in the sum of time spent walking with not much of note happening. Compared with contemporary book options, I can't picture kids being interested in this now.
The ending is rather abrupt: the children technically read their destination but it rather glosses over that event and seems to jump ahead in time, but with only general statements. I'm not sure if this was meant as an enticement to read the next book, but taken on its own it's a lost opportunity. I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy regardless; they're short and easy books and, despite my criticisms here, smoothly written and easy to absorb.
Its closest comparison is The Chrysalids, published a decade earlier and far superior in terms of mid-20th century dystopian sci-fi for young readers. The White Mountains still has its qualities, however. It's not hard to picture it taught in school, in a time and place that this somewhat bland British boys' journey was deemed sufficient for such. It has a simplicity to it but will still test early reading comprehension, such as identifying the scientific concepts and technologies that "Beanpole" is rediscovering. At the same time it lends itself to a depth of character analysis and discussion suitable to primary school readers. This doesn't mean characters are engaging, just that they bear discussion, like why the reader thinks the narrating main character is such a petty, jealous, self-centered whiner who is chronically ungrateful for his companions carrying him the whole way.
In terms of dystopian fiction, it's vague about the supposed negative impacts of rule by the Tripods and being Capped. There is a vague conception of loss of freedom, but this is not truly demonstrated in the book.
I suppose in an earlier age, young readers may have been captivated with the characters' journey across lands to reach the White Mountains; 13-year-old boys on their own, sleeping rough, stealing and gathering food. The landscape descriptions are lovely and potentially new reading territory for many, but dull in the sum of time spent walking with not much of note happening. Compared with contemporary book options, I can't picture kids being interested in this now.
The ending is rather abrupt: the children technically read their destination but it rather glosses over that event and seems to jump ahead in time, but with only general statements. I'm not sure if this was meant as an enticement to read the next book, but taken on its own it's a lost opportunity. I'm going to read the rest of the trilogy regardless; they're short and easy books and, despite my criticisms here, smoothly written and easy to absorb.