The Genuine Half-Moon Kid: 9

To escape South Africa's turmoil, recent high-school graduate Jay Watson begins a journey that gives him new purpose, connected to the mysterious contents of a box that had belonged to his grandfather. By the author of Crocodile Burning. Read more Continue reading Read less FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Where Williams's Crocodile Burning evoked the anger and torment of South Africa's black population, this equally provocative saga captures the emotional turmoil of South African whites witnessing the rebirth of their country. Jay Watson, a confused white teen, finds refuge from his "crazy" family and worrisome politics: after hours, he submerges himself in the cool water of the gigantic fish tank at the fish hatchery where he works. When he is notified of an unusual inheritance from his drifter grandfather, however, Jay leaves his seascape fantasies to confront a real world filled with danger and uncertainty. Accompanied by three unlikely companions, he embarks on a quest to find the mysterious yellow box that is rightfully his. The places on his route--the home of a rich uncle, an impoverished township, an orphanage and a writer's retreat deep in the jungle--open his eyes to hypocrisy and injustice within his homeland. Ultimately, his journey proves to be as significant as the family secrets locked in Grandfather Watson's precious box. Addressing issues of tyranny, greed, child abuse and personal salvation, this timely, suspenseful novel sheds light on political upheaval and its psychological effects. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
Grade 7 Up-Jay, a 17-year-old white South African, finds solace from his maddening family and his confusing world by swimming among the peaceable tropical fish in his employer's breeding tanks. Soon, however, he is reenacting the story of "Jason and the Golden Fleece" as he and a group of ragtag "heroes" explore unknown parts of their country. Driving his recently deceased grandfather's ancient van, Jay searches for a yellowwood box that the man wanted him to have; he hopes that in finding it he will also discover something about the wandering streak that caused his father and grandfather to walk out on their wives and children. On his quest, he takes along several people whom he doesn't much like, largely because he needs their knowledge. They represent various immigrant groups-Jewish, Turkish, English, Afrikaner, and Xhosa. By the end, Jay has come to terms with them, his family, and with adult pain. He gives up his underwater fantasy world in favor of "work to be done and a life to live." With absolute white power receding, this novel focuses less on apartheid than Sheila Gordon's Waiting for the Rain (Orchard, 1987) or Norman Silver's An Eye for Color (Dutton, 1993) . While suspense is maintained throughout, the Golden Fleece metaphor seems a bit forced, but most readers will enjoy the excellent writing, multidimensional characters, and strong story line.
Loretta Kreider Andrews, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. FROM KIRKUS REVIEWS
The hunt for a mysterious yellowwood box becomes a Capetown teenager's quest for identity in this busy story from the author of Crocodile Burning (1992) . Jay's grandfather has died, leaving no explanation of why, ten years earlier, he suddenly disappeared, abandoning his family and a prosperous business. In hopes of an answer, Jay gathers an assortment of companions, including Levi, a secretive 9-year-old with telltale bruises on his face, and sets out in his grandfather's ancient van to track down a storage box that the old man left to him. The search takes Jay from oily Uncle Peter's posh suburban house to a hut in the Knysna Forest, with stops in a township and at a home for abandoned children. Meanwhile, it takes on symbolic meaning for Jay, who seeks not only clues to his family's past but also direction in his own life. Williams draws random plot elements from the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece and shoehorns in several subplots--Jay's senile grandmother takes to swallowing silverware; he learns that Uncle Peter has not only had a relationship with his mother (oddly, Jay sees her as guiltless) but has been misusing trust funds that are rightfully his; and Levi is ultimately beaten to death by his mother's abusive boyfriend. The box turns out to contain legal documents plus almost 200 stories, all unfinished--his grandfather's real legacy and the spark that sets Jay on the road to becoming a writer. Some poignant moments and a rather dark sense of humor help to tie the disparate elements together. (Fiction. YA) -- Copyright 1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Read more Continue reading Read less