Young Adult Novels
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The Redneck Poacher's Son, The Slavery Ghosts, In the Shadow of the Wind, & Ceremony of the Panther were originally published by Bradbury Press, which became part of Macmillan, Inc. They are now available through the Author’s Guild’s Back-in-Print Program and may be ordered by going to www.iuniverse.com and searching by Title, Author, or Keyword.
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The Redneck Poacher's Son
Chosen by the American Library Association, Best Book.
- "…the story becomes a truly gut-wrenching and memorable reading experience."
- -- Starred Review, American Library Association Booklist
- "A well-written, sensitive novel."
- -- Voya
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Jesse is almost a Billy Budd: kind, trusting, loving, patient but not perfect, and it is his imperfection, his anger, that makes it possible to empathize with him, an empathy that heightens the suspense…"
- -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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"…the dialogue, for both Blacks and whites, is remarkably authentic: and the taste of grits is on every page. All the characters, and especial the confused, frightened Jesse, are believable."
- -- School Library Journal
- "Wallin puts a good deal of tension into Jesse's contradictory passions for freedom and revenge, a lot of snap in all his characters, and plenty of action, empathy, and swampland color in his Greek-style family drama.
- --Kirkus Reviews
- "Wallin's …story leap[s] from the mouths of his characters in an unusual show of craft. His ear for the Southern dialect is as sharp as anyone writing today.
- -- Chattanooga Times
At right: A chapter of The Redneck Poacher's Son is included in Mississippi Writers: Reflections of Childhood and Youth.
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In the Shadow of the Wind
A New York Public Library Best Book.
- "An impressive historical novel about the conflict between white settlers and Creek families in Alabama in 1835…"
- --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
- "Fast-moving and touching, this should appeal not just to history buffs but to anyone who enjoys a good story."
- -- School Library Journal
- "There is much in Luke Wallin's novels to appeal to the scholar, certainly to the history buff, to the student of Native American culture, to the regionalist, and even to the spiritualist. But Wallin should best be regarded as a fine writer of young adult fiction. It is here that his craft waxes toward genius."
- -- Educational Horizions
- "Historical in fact and setting, In the Shadow of the Wind is modern in pace and its depiction of an American Romeo and Juliet-victims of their time who nevertheless emerge whole."
- -- Publisher's Weekly
- "In the Shadow of the Wind is a fine story for both children and adults."
- -- Chattanooga Times
- "Both Caleb and Pine Basket are strong characters who must put aside their pasts and, in Caleb's case, his family, in order to find a new way of life."
- -- Children's Book Review Service
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Ceremony of the Panther
Selected a Best Book by the children's book center at Bank Street College.
Recommended by the Smithsonian Institution's Critical Anthropology website.
- "…[the] descriptions of nature are masterful and ground the reader, lending authority to the story elements that are outside the limited and rigid Western tradition. …The ending…is a powerful surprise. Few authors provide the sense of completion and satisfaction that the best novels capture. And [the] surprise ending does that. Watching John find his own voice and start on his own path…is uplifting."
- -- Ellen Roddick, novelist.
- "There is much in Luke Wallin's novels to appeal to the scholar, certainly to the history buff, to the student of Native American culture, to the regionalist, and even to the spiritualist. But Wallin should best be regarded as a fine writer of young adult fiction. It is here that his craft waxes toward genius."
- --Educational Horizions (from a review of The Redneck Poacher's Son and In the Shadow of the Wind)
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The Slavery Ghosts
- "Luke Wallin has written a ghost story filled with suspense and adventure..."
- --Best Sellers
- "Jake [13] and Livy [12] discover another side of the old South when they venture into tunnels beneath the mansion, where the ghosts of slaves languish and ask the brother and sister to help lead the way to freedom. Wallin…laces his story about evil and retribution with humor, creating an exciting and credible entertainment. --Publisher's Weekly
- --Publisher's Weekly
- "[Jake's and Livy's] mission of mercy, taken at great peril to themselves, has rewards: Jake gains courage and Livy patience. A different and surprising reward for our young hero and heroine, and for the reader, … a gentle introduction to spiritualism, reincarnation, higher consciousness and darma.
- --Children's Book Review Service
- "This is an exciting ghost story."
- --The George G. Stone Center for Children's Books
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