Linda Sue Park,
Archer's Quest
Clarion, 2006.

Ages 9-12

Who would have thought that an ordinary day, stretching out for twelve-year-old Kevin, with the promise of nothing but homework, should turn into such an impelling, life-changing adventure?  Certainly not Kevin himself, whose shock at having his baseball cap shot off his head and pinned to the wall by an arrow sets the scene for a book which, once started, will prove very difficult to put down. The Archer is Koh Chu-mong, a king of Ancient Korea.  The challenge now is to get him back there.  In the process, Kevin will try and explain 20^th century inventions such as computers, telephones, cars, even the globe, to Archie, (Kevin’s nick-name for the Archer), while stopping him from shooting at any apparent threat; and Kevin himself will learn some important lessons in life from his new, if temporary, mentor, as well as a deeper appreciation of his own Korean roots.  The story is told very much from Kevin’s point of view: Park shows his thought-processes as well as what he actually says, which increases the sense of urgency.  She shows him grappling with how to get information out of Archie; forcing his brain into mathematical calculations; and making the bold step of approaching others for information. However, the unspoken message drips through that it is indeed the Archer’s quest: he has been sent as a catalyst for Kevin to find the path that will lead him away from his course of apathy and resentment.  But there isn’t long and Park keeps the tension mounting right to the end.

Park has provided background notes about her references to Chu-mong and tigers; about how she, the author, ‘calculated the cycle for Archie’s birth year ‘just as Kevin did’ (nicely put!); and, something which readers will be dying to know by the end, a table where they can find their own birth year elements within the sixty-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.  For many this will be a new discovery: as, indeed, it was for Kevin and it is crucial in his working out of how to get Archie home.  This is a great read and would be a good book to put under the nose of someone who you think, like Kevin, needs a bit of adventure. 

Marjorie Coughlan
July 2006