On the Run

October 8, 2012
Originally published in France in 2009, screenwriter Borreau’s lean novel strikes an uneasy balance between the real and the improbable. Fourth-grader Anthony has been told that his father, Rafael, is a wildlife photographer who has been traveling for work for years. Though Anthony suspects that something is amiss—his father’s postcards always bear the same postmark—he is shattered when he learns that Rafael is in jail for bank robbery. Anthony’s mother’s flat recounting of her husband’s backstory diminishes its drama, but the boy’s prison visit with his father is undeniably moving. After Rafael’s unlikely escape during his trial, he visits Anthony in disguise and agrees to bring his son with him on the lam. Plausibility stretches further as the two take refuge in the seaside home of Rafael’s friend, who has also spent time in jail and who (inexplicably) introduces Anthony to a girl whose father, a policeman, is trying to hunt down Rafael. Despite an anti-
climactic conclusion, Anthony’s fervent search for the truth, his longing for a normal family life, and his misplaced hope give the novel significant emotional depth. Ages 8–12.

September 15, 2012
Resentful that he didn't know his father was in jail, Anthony determines to stick with him after he escapes, running away with him to the seaside at Nantes. For two years, the third-grader has been receiving postcards from his father's "travels." His family thought him too young to be told the truth: His father has been in a detention center awaiting trial. With relatively little emotion, narrator Anthony describes his discovery that both his father and grandfather had been professional burglars, his visits to the jail, the disapproval of his classmates when his father's trial is on the news, and how he joins his fugitive father and successfully conceals his getaway under cover of a fireworks display. In this fast-paced, present-tense account, Anthony's voice is believably naive and accepting. At home, he slept with a night light, but by story's end he's self-sufficient in the dark. He's grown, but his father has not. Anthony would like him to return the stolen money, to have a normal life. But his father justifies himself: Banks are insured; he's never been hurt. Honesty doesn't enter into the picture. First published in France as En Cavale in 2009, this has been smoothly translated by Maudet. This glimpse of existential amorality will leave readers with much to think about. (Fiction. 9-12)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2013

Gr 4-5-There's little to engage children in this spare book about a boy who learns that his father is an ex-bank robber serving time. Fourth-grader Anthony Cantes was raised believing his absentee dad, Rafael, is a wildlife photographer who visits exotic locales. The reality, though, is more grit than glamour-his father is awaiting trial for an earlier jail escape. Anthony's older sister, Lise, tells him the truth. After his mother relates a weak, less-than-illuminating back story about Rafael, the boy begs to visit him in prison. Just as his father's trial is about to begin, Anthony finds himself the target of school yard taunts-no one wants to associate with the son of a criminal. Rafael breaks out of jail once again, throwing everything into turmoil. But this time, Anthony takes flight with him. At this point, the story runs away, too, losing all logical focus. Readers will be hard-pressed to believe Rafael's antics, especially the shenanigans he pulls to see his children post-jailbreak. A tepid romance near the novel's end between a policeman's daughter and the protagonist seems more creepy than cute. Ultimately, Bourreau's attempts to manufacture intense drama fail due to flat characterization and an implausible, dull plot.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2013
For years middle grader Anthony believed his father was away on an extended trip. Then he discovers that Dad is in prison for theft. When Dad escapes and goes on the lam, Anthony joins him and is present during a climactic police shootout, from which Dad escapes, leaving Anthony behind. The emotional arc in this spare and solemn French import foils our expectations.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2012
In this spare and solemn short novel, French screenwriter Bourreau traces a season in the life of Anthony. For years this middle grader has believed that his father is away on an extended trip, in his capacity as a wildlife photographer. Then he discovers the truth: that Dad is in prison, for theft. When Anthony begins to visit him in jail, he tries to forge a new relationship with this stranger, and that effort is cut short when Dad escapes and goes on the lam. Anthony joins him and is present during a climactic police shootout, from which Dad escapes, leaving Anthony behind. The emotional arc here foils our expectations. There is no heart-warming reconciliation scene between father and son. Dad is not a monster, but there is no evidence that he acknowledges any moral dimension to his crimes. In the final scene, cinematic with fireworks exploding over water as Dad rows away in a dinghy, timid Anthony finds physical courage, but the potential joy of this moment is quickly squelched by our knowledge that the boy's continuing loyalty to his father, plausible as it is, is deeply tragic. sarah ellis

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)