Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Starred Review Suchet, who masterfully portrayed the redoubtable Hercule Poirot on the PBS Mystery! series, adapts his stellar performance to this brilliant audio. Suchet brings such depth and charm to the reading of one of Christie's best-loved mysteries that listeners will be spellbound. The British actor's rich voice lends itself to the large cast of characters, including the shallow Linnett Ridgeway, ineffectual Simon Doyle, and maddened Jacqueline de Bellefort. And Suchet's characterization of Poirot is so perfect and familiar that it elicits a smile, as if one is greeting a long-lost friend. The story, one of impossible murder, jealousy, and hidden secrets among a traveling party journeying down the Nile River, is cleverly plotted, filled with suspects, and diabolically constructed. Suchet manages the plot perfectly, changing pace and inflection with ease, bringing each character to life, and building up suspense and anxiety. His voice evokes Christie's characters so well that he sets the standard for other readers of her works. A pure pleasure from start to finish, this is highly recommended for Christie fans as well as anyone looking for a satisfying audiobook experience.

Horn Book

The text relates a moving episode in the lives of two young Union soldiers whose Civil War experiences are vastly different because of their races. African-American Pinkus saves Sheldon's life but is hanged at Andersonville soon after arriving there as a Confederate prisoner. The story has been passed down through generations of Polacco's family, starting with ancestor Sheldon Curtis. A multifaceted book that raises questions about courage, war, family, and slavery.

Kirkus Reviews

A white youth from Ohio, Sheldon Russell Curtis (Say), and a black youth from Georgia, Pinkus Aylee (Pink), meet as young soldiers with the Union army. Pink finds Say wounded in the leg after a battle and brings him home with him. Pink's mother, Moe Moe Bay, cares for the boys while Say recuperates, feeding and comforting them and banishing the war for a time. Whereas Pink is eager to go back and fight against ``the sickness'' that is slavery, Say is afraid to return to his unit. But when he sees Moe Moe Bay die at the hands of marauders, he understands the need to return. Pink and Say are captured by Confederate soldiers and brought to the notorious Andersonville prison camp. Say is released months later, ill and undernourished, but Pink is never released, and Polacco reports that he was hanged that very first day because he was black. Polacco (Babushka Baba Yaga, 1993, etc; My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother, above) tells this story, which was passed down for generations in her family (Say was her great-great-grandfather), carefully and without melodrama so that it speaks for itself. The stunning illustrations—reminiscent of the German expressionist Egon Shiele in their use of color and form—are completely heartbreaking. A spectacular achievement. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4- 8)"

School Library Journal (Tue Feb 28 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 4 Up--Say, 15, had never seen a black person up close until Pink, also a young Union soldier, saves his life. During his brief stay in Pink's home, the wounded boy comes to understand his friend's unconquerable vision of freedom. A memorable family reminiscence with evocative paintings. (Oct. 1994)