Bandit's Moon

Newly orphaned, young Annyrose escapes from the villainous O.O. Mary and falls under the protection of a proud and fearless Mexican bandit, regarded as the Robin Hood of the California Gold Rush. Annyrose wants only to search for her older brother who had run off to the gold diggings, but she finds herself galloping beside the celebrated outlaw in his own quest. He is hunting down the last of a band of "Yankee" riffraff who wronged him, an event that turned the innocent young Mexican into an avenging terror of the roads. With his characteristic story twists and turns and surprises, Newbery Award winner Sid Fleischman lights up a dark corner in this Gold Rush drama set against a firestorm of bigotry ignited by the lust for riches. As for this legendary bandit, dashing about on his silken black horse and breathing fire, he actually lived. 02 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee Master List, 00-01 Charlie May Simon Book Award Reading List, 02 Nutmeg State Children's Book Award Masterlist, 00-01 Children's Choice Award Masterlist, 00-01 William Allen White Children's Book Award Masterlist, 01-02 Land of Enchantment Book Award Masterlist (Gr. 6-9), and 00-01 Sequoyah Children's Book Award Masterlist

Review :
Most girls would be upset if a gang of bandits rode in, but Annyrose sees it as an improvement. Locked in a barn since she tried to run away from the villainous 0. 0. Mary, Annyrose pleads with the bandit called "Wakeen" to let her go along with the gang. Thinking she's a boy, Wakeen agrees to take her -- provided she'll teach him to read so that he can find out what the gringo are saying about him on wanted posters and in the newspapers. Although Annyrose heartily disapproves of the gang's thievery and murder, she comes to realize that the bandits are only stealing what was taken from them when ruthless white settlers "wrote laws to pry off those with darker skins from the diggings." The message about bigotry forms the underpinnings of the book, but Fleischman couldn't write with a heavy hand if he tried. His rollicking humor (Annyrose and Wakeen are both surprised when they discover Wakeen's name is really spelled J-o-a-q-u-i-n), spicy writing style, and action-packed narrative make this a page-turner. Joaquin, of course, is the famous Mexican bandit Joaquin Murieta, and an afterword explains which parts of the story are true and which are fictionalized. Annyrose and Joaquin are equally likable, the setting is detailed and authentic, and the substantial story comes to a satisfying conclusion.--Susan Dove Lempke "Booklist"It's the odd couple of California's Gold Rush -- a 12 year-old orpan in search of her brother (he's run off to dig for riches) and Joaquin Murietta, the Mexican bandit with a Robin Hood reputation. They ride together on their respective quests, the plot of this spirited novel twisting, turning and touching on problems of bigotry, racism and greed. --"San FranciscoExaminer & Chronicle, " November 1998