Beneath the Mask. David Ward. Markham, ON: Scholastic Canada, 2003. 202 pp., pbk., $6.99. ISBN 0-439-97472-0. Subject Headings: Escapes-Juvenile fiction. Sacrefices-Juvenile fiction. Guilt-Juvenile fiction. Grades 7-9 / Age 12-14. Review by Chris Pike. *** / 4

excerpt:

"Get up, Pippa," I whispered. We stepped forward, falling once again into the plodding pace the strap allowed. It was a short match. The wall of brush ended suddenly and our faces were bathed in waning sunlight. Pippa shuddered. We stood in a large open circle with thinning grass under our feet and a smouldering fire pit at the circle's centre. It was a dreary place. The ground ahead was grey with ash, as if no living thing could make its way up through the soil to colour the earth. A troop of ancient trees, so tall I could hardly see their tops, stood like sentinels at the circle's edge.

Pippa began to shake and I followed her gaze to the nearest of the old trunks. Blackened by fire and cut by rope marks, it looked as much a captive of the grove as we were to the Spears. Wear marks had smoothed the bark, and here and there where fire had not reached it, the bark was stained dark red. "Ashes and fire," she said. "This is an evil place."

Beneath the Mask begins where Escape the Mask left off and chronicles the journey of the main characters of Coriko and Pippa and their small group of followers as they attempt to survive on their own. The book begins with the group’s trying to make it to the ship and with it, they believe, their freedom. Pippa’s recurring dream of “ashes and fire” foreshadows what will follow as the group is captured by the Spears. In order to survive and more important keep their mate alive, Coriko and the other males must become what they hate most.

     David Ward has succeeded in continuing the story and recreating the characters introduced in Escape the Mask. Instead of focusing only on their freedom, Ward succeeds in having the characters challenge what they know and ultimately who they are. As they struggle, Ward has them mature with a childlike innocence. It is in this innocence that it becomes unbelievable that these children can survive on their own. To compensate, Ward fittingly has the focus shift to the character of Tia who, in this book, truly comes into her own and who is the one who is able to realize the reality of their situation. It is also Tia that makes the ultimate sacrifice, and, in order for the story to be believable, it cannot be anyone else.

     This is a good read which, in true sequel fashion, answers some but not all of the questions. Ward succeeds in drawing in his readers and leaving them wanting more.

Recommended.

Christina Pike, an English teacher and Resource Person at Ascension Collegiate in Bay Roberts, NL, has been working at the Department of Education, Evaluation, Testing and Certification Division as a Consultant during the 2003-04 school year.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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