Fran Cannon Slayton expertly blends suspense with emotional complexity in the seven interconnected stories of When the Whistle Blows…This first novel has many strengths—vivid period details, an engaging voice, finely tuned sentences—but its greatest is the ability to articulate the ways of fathers and sons, of love and loss, expectation and hurt, of words unsaid and those that pierce like a "single, steaming whistle."
—The Washington Post
Slayton's sweet and nostalgic debut novel tells the story of seven consecutive Halloweens, starting in 1943, in the life of teenage Jimmy Cannon. He wants nothing but to follow in the footsteps of his father and older brothers and work for the railroad, which runs through his hometown of Rowlesburg, W. Va. His dad, however, believes that the railroads are dying, and that Jimmy's future is elsewhere. As each year passes, readers get glimpses of Jimmy's small-town life: a late-night wake for a favorite uncle, a prank gone awry, a robbery with nearly disastrous consequences, etc. Slayton takes a few wrong turns, notably the chapters featuring the football championship and the boorish school principal who opposes hunting season, both of which have clichéd resolutions. Though the nature of the book-devoid of Jimmy's growth over the 364 days between each chapter-can feel disjointed, Jimmy, his father and the townsfolk have unique, compelling voices that nicely convey the sense of small-town America during and after World War II. Ages 10-up.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
[A] memorable novel . . .
Gr 6-10
Linked stories set on seven consecutive All Hallows' Eves, from 1943 through 1949, relate Jimmy Cannon's teenage years in Rowlesburg, WV. Central to his story are his two older brothers, his friends, and especially his father, a formidable figure in a long succession of Cannon men who have worked for the B&O railroad. Why then, does Dad insist that Jimmy must not follow in his own footsteps? And what is his father's role in the secretive and mysterious "Society" of local men? This is nostalgia done right, as Jimmy describes the high jinks, the championship football game, the risks and rewards of his part-time job, and other significant events that shape his love for his small hometown at a time and place when the railroad was the town. Telling details and gentle humor help set the scene and reveal a great deal about these characters and their lives. The nature, membership, and duties of "The Society" slowly come to the fore as events transpire that sharpen Jimmy's perceptions and provide him with the insights to consider the possibility of an unknown and very different future than the one he had always imagined. A polished paean to a bygone time and place.-Joel Shoemaker, South East Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Set in a railroad town in West Virginia in the 1940s, these quaint and compelling short stories, which together function as a novel, tell the engrossing tale of young Jimmy Cannon, who is growing from boy to man at the very same time that the most important elements in his life-his father and the steam-engine trains he has loved since childhood-are chugging toward their last breaths. The stories, taking place on a series of seven All Hallow's Eves, follow Jimmy as he engages in childish pranks, plays in the championship football game, spies on the secret railroad society that his father and brothers belong to and finally is inducted into that society after his father's death. Ultimately, Jimmy learns to accept that the days of the steam engine are over, to better understand his emotionally distant father and to embrace his role as newest member of his father's society, which turns out to be centered not on the railroad after all, but on faith, brotherhood and love. An unassuming masterpiece. (Historical fiction. 10 & up)
-An unassuming masterpiece.+ -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Slayton's book, full of old-fashioned storytelling at its best, is further enlivened by Peter Berkrot's narration. Set in 1940s West Virginia and inspired by family stories passed down to the author, this tale offers listeners glimpses of a long-ago world in which little towns thrived, connected by the continual thrumming of trains in the background. Berkrot's voice slips gently into Southern rhythms to capture the life and times of Rowlesburg, with its Halloween pranks, teen friendships, and close family bonds. His narration is both thoughtful and lively, and his characterizations compelling. Whether giving voice to teenaged Jimmy, the town's police officer, the school football coach, or Jimmy's father, Berkrot's depictions are adept and insightful—and he doesn't miss any opportunities to highlight the material's humor. J.C.G. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
