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Summary
Summary
When his dad gets a job at the U.S. embassy in Liberia, twelve-year-old Linus Tuttle knows it's his chance for a fresh start. Instead of being his typical anxious self, from now on he'll be cooler and bolder: the new Linus.
But as soon as his family gets off the plane, they see a black mamba--one of the deadliest snakes in Africa. Linus's parents insist mambas are rare, but the neighborhood is called Mamba Point, and Linus can barely go outside without tripping over one--he's sure the venomous serpents are drawn to him. Then he hears about kasengs, and the belief that some people have a deep, mysterious connection to certain animals.
Unless Linus wants to hide in his apartment forever (drawing or playing games with the strange kid downstairs while his older brother meets girls and hangs out at the pool), he has to get over his fear of his kaseng animal. Soon he's not only keeping a black mamba in his laundry hamper; he's also feeling braver than ever before. Is it his resolution to become the new Linus, or does his sudden confidence have something to do with his scaly new friend?
From Kurtis Scaletta, author of Mudville , comes a humorous and compelling story of a boy learning about himself through unexpected friends, a fascinating place, and an extraordinary animal.
Author Notes
Kurtis Scaletta was born in Louisiana and grew up in several states and foreign countries, including Liberia, where this story takes place. Mamba Point is his second novel for young readers. His first book, Mudville , is a Booklist Top Ten Sports Book for Youth and was named a Midwest Connections Pick by the Midwest Booksellers Association.
Kurtis now lives in Minneapolis with his wife and several cats (but no snakes). To learn more about him, please visit www.kurtisscaletta.com.
Reviews (5)
Horn Book Review
Linus, not yet thirteen, moves to Liberia with his family in the summer of 1982. Companionship with a deadly black mamba snake, with which he can seemingly communicate, helps Linus shed his scaredy-cat image. Predictably, his attachment to the snake results in a near tragedy. Though the multitude of eighties references grow tiring and Linus is rather two-dimensional, his emotions are relatable. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
After his family moves from Dayton to Liberia for his father's American Embassy job, 12-year-old Linus sees an opportunity to reinvent himself and become more confident, less fearful. Although he is initially scared when a rare, deadly black mamba appears, the snake doesn't harm him, and Linus soon finds himself increasingly attached to it. After secretly bringing it home, he finds himself growing more assertive. Then the snake escapes from his room, and the near-tragedy that ensues reminds Linus that the mamba is still a wild animal, and he must do what's right and admit responsibility, despite the difficult consequences. Scaletta (Mudville, 2009) has created an appealing, well-written protagonist whose everyday and extraordinary experiences from sibling and adjustment issues to his intriguing, mysterious connection with the snake change his life in unexpected, positive ways. With lively, sometimes droll touches and a well-constructed 1980s setting, the engaging first-person narrative and array of diversely drawn characters further enliven the novel, which concludes with a personal author's note that provides more story background.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
The moment 12-year-old Linus gets to Liberia - his father has been sent to the embassy there - he sees "an African guy running at us with a machete." It turns out the man had spotted a deadly mamba at the family's feet: "Pretty soon the snake was in about eight pieces." It's the first of many encounters Linus will have with mambas, as the reptile seems to become his "kaseng," or a kind of shadow (and later, dangerous pet). Full of authentic detail from Scaletta's own childhood experiences in Liberia, the novel is both entertaining and touching.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-Linus and his family have moved to Monrovia, Liberia, where his father works for the U.S. embassy. Shy and anxious, the 12-year-old keeps seeing a friendly black mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the country, and he discovers that he has a kaseng, a connection with this particular animal. As weeks pass, Linus begins to treat the snake as a pet, hidden from everyone, and he feels that he is changing, becoming more confident and bold, perhaps taking on the mamba's characteristics. When he sets up a dry terrarium in his closet for it, he forgets that he is putting others in danger. With parents away, his older brother locks him out because he is having a party, and the inevitable occurs. Fortunately all ends well. In this absorbing novel, Linus is trying to find out who he is so he can leave behind the anxious child he recognizes in himself. Set in 1982, the novel portrays life in an American embassy, separate from and yet part of a city quite different from mainstream America. Scaletta writes about Monrovia in real terms, a city whose people, like those everywhere, span many income and social groups, but where poverty is a constant. The novel also looks head-on at various stereotypes of Africa. Though this well-written work occasionally moves slowly, the excellent characterization and the unusual setting will appeal to many readers.-Barbara Scotto, Children's Literature New England, Brookline, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Scaletta's expertly voiced narrative offers an experience of Africaspecifically, Monrovia, Liberia, in 1982through the eyes of Linus, a Dayton, Ohio, seventh grader whose family has just arrived for a diplomatic posting. Self-conscious and more than a little bit anxious, Linus is ready to embrace his more courageous side. Amazingly, his braver version turns out to have a surprising spiritual connection to the deadly, rarely seen black mamba. The culture, politics and economy of 1980s Liberia are conveyed through the clear-eyed but skewed filter of Linus's young understanding. The sights, smells and sounds compete nearly equally for Linus's attention with his desire for friends and his delight in his family's acquisition of a new Atari system. The author gets exactly right the mix of the familiar and the entirely unfamiliar as well as the terror that makes even close encounters with the world's deadliest snake only an also-ran next to looming adolescence. Linus eventually begins to sort out his place in the worldor at least in his area of influencein a tale tinted with magical realism that is by turns scary and very funny. (Fiction. 11-14)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Excerpts
Excerpts
My brother changed his name on the plane ride to Africa. "From now on, my name is Law," he said. "Law Tuttle." He said it to himself a few times, practicing. "Hey, I'm Law. Law Tuttle." He tossed his bangs back with a casual nod as he said it. He'd only recently begun growing his hair out, so he didn't have much to toss. "I've never heard of anyone called Law," I said, not looking up from my book. I was reading Tarzan of the Apes in comic-book form, which was a going-away present from Joe, my buddy back in Dayton. He wrote on the wrapping paper that it was something to get me ready for the great African experience. If Tarzan was at all accurate, I was in big trouble. According to the comic, Africa was all cannibals and savage apes and hungry lions. I'd read the encyclopedia article, too, though. It said Liberia was founded back in the 1800s by some freed American slaves. They went back to Africa and created their own country. That was why they spoke English in Liberia, and why their flag looked like ours, only with one big star instead of fifty little ones, and why their currency was dollars and cents. There was nothing in the article about ape tribes or cannibals, so those guys must have civilized it by now. We were moving to Africa because my dad got a job at the American Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia. I didn't know exactly what he'd be doing there, just that he'd be working for two years and then we'd probably move somewhere else. Dad said it was a big embassy with lots of families and that we'd have plenty of friends. That would be a big change from Dayton, where I had a few pals but not plenty, like they were swarming around me when I left the house. Dad also told us that the embassy compound had a swimming pool and tennis courts and a clubhouse for teenagers and a library with books and videotapes. I wouldn't be able to go to that teen club until I turned thirteen on December 11, but I was looking forward to swimming and the other stuff. "Law is short for Lawrence," my brother insisted. "It makes more sense than Larry." "Whatever you say, Law." I made as much noise as I could turning the page. Tarzan was about to do battle with a savage man-eating gorilla, and it was a lot more interesting than Larry making up new names for himself. The gorilla took up most of the next page, its muscles rippling, saliva dripping from its fangs--lots of nice details. I would try and copy it later. "You could come up with a name, too," Law suggested. "You hate your first name." "No I don't." I didn't, either. Kids made fun of it sometimes, but it wasn't my name's fault people were jerks. "Yes you do," he insisted. "How about you go by L.T. or, um, Wheels, since you like skating?" "No way." "Fine. Go on being Blanket Boy." His point made, my brother sprawled out and drifted off to sleep, probably dreaming of a better life as Law than he'd had in Ohio as plain old Larry. My first name is Linus. Most people hear that name and think of the kid in the cartoons who totes a blanket around and never combs his hair. Usually within five seconds of meeting me they ask, "Hey, where's your blanket?" Like no one every thought of that before. So Larry had a point about changing my name, but I didn't think I would. First of all, even if I had the coolest first name in the world--like Indiana in Raiders of the Lost Ark--my last name would still be Tuttle, which sounds like "Turtle," and kids would skip on to the turtle jokes. "Where's your blanket?" would become "Where's your shell?" Second of all, it's not necessarily about the name. I knew this kid back in Dayton named Percy Schaefer. Percy is the sort of first name that they ought to not allow by law. The thing was, Percy Schaefer was cool about it. When he said his name was Percy,he said it like it was a great joke and he was in on it. Percy had long hair and wore a denim vest year-round with a bunch of weird patches on it and carried a deck of cards in the vest pocket. If he had five minutes to spare, he'd challenge you to a game of knock rummy--he'd play you penny-a-point and win, but then he'd take the whole pocket of change down to the arcade and treat you to video games. Percy was one of the coolest kids in Dayton, and after a while you felt like you could have been cool, too, if only your name was Percy instead of Larry or Linus or Joe. So maybe the name wasn't really the problem. Maybe it was me. Excerpted from Mamba Point by Kurtis Scaletta All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
