It seemed a situation more worthy of attention than she gave it. On the down side, I was disappointed in Rabin's portrayal of Langston's experience as a black kid in the middle ages. It was an interesting look at the age old question, can history be changed, and, if so, is it right to try to do so? Langston was a passionate and convincing central character, with a great brain and a lot of heart. On the plus side, I loved meeting Roger Bacon, and I think Rabin did a fine job bringing him to life. As such, it was something of a roller coaster for me as a reader. And in the meantime, Bacon has his own enemies.who also want to put a lid on his experiments forever!īlack Powder is a disconcerting mix of serious time travel with hefty moral imperative, almost farcical elements (such as the wacky science teacher, and a bunch of crazed knights, and the antics of the "shell" Langston left behind in his present), and moments of utter implausibility (Langston just happens to meet an African slave girl and help her to freedom! She is is true love! Medieval monks are totally unphased by dvd players! There is a miraculous slice of lemon!). Even dvds, showing the terrible trajectory gunpowder would take (brought back along with a portable dvd player) don't convince him. When his kooky science teacher invites him over for a demonstration of the time machine she has invented (Langston being something of a science geek), he becomes convinced he's found the way to save his friend's life-simply travel back to the 13th century and keep Roger Bacon from introducing gunpowder to Europe! The time travel part goes smoothly enough, but convincing Bacon to burn his records is harder. When Neely wants out, after his gang kills a black kid, he himself is shot and killed. It hasn't made a difference to them, but it does matter to the leader of Neely's gang. McElderry Books, YA, 228 pages).ġ4 year-old Langston is black, and his best friend Neely is white. Black Powder, by Staton Rabin (2005, Margaret K.
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