Pawnee Warrior

Fly, Cherokee, Fly #2

by Chris d'Lacey

In a gripping and enthralling sequel to FLY, CHEROKEE, FLY, Darryl is the proud owner of two new baby racing pigeons - and still fancies older girl Susan rotten. But he also has a problem with bullying Warren Spigott, who threatens to harm the birds - and especially the one Darryl has named Pawnee Warrior, which is to begin its early training in Warren's father's pigeon-loft... With the help of his new friend Suzie, Darryl knows that, to protect his birds, he must now become a warrior himself...

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

He was born in Valetta, Malta, but as a child moved first to Leicester and then to Bolton. After gaining a degree in biology from the University of York, he returned to Leicester and got a job at the University of Leicester in their Pre-Clinical Sciences department.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.

Reviews

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes when you discover a new author you just fall in love with their writing. And I have loves almost all of the 20 books I have read by Chris d’Lacey over the last year. But there is something extra about this book that makes it incredible. Now I need to be honest and say I never expected to really like books about racing pigeons. This book is an immediate follow up to Fly, Cherokee, Fly. But this book is a little darker than its predecessor it was not nominated for any awards. And to be honest currently it is out of print. But it is an incredible read.

This book has a lot of different issues that it deals with, and the reactions people have to them. We have a brutish teen verging on becoming a thug, Warren Spigott, who has not dealt well with the death of his mother a few years earlier. We have a family with two children expecting another, but they have lost a few along the way. We have a boy, Darryl, who has been tormented by an older lad, who almost snaps when he finally seeks revenge. We have youth experiencing their first relationships with the opposite sex. And all of that is written around a lad with a passion for racing pigeons.

This book has a lot of action. Primarily that action revolves around Darryl being bullied and his friends rallying around him. But as indicated there are a lot of other issues going on in this densely packed novel.

This book is one of my favorites this year, and year to date I have read 217 books. It is also one of the top three books out of the 20 I have read by d’Lacey. It is an excellent read. I really wish this book was still available or available as an eBook because I know many people who I think would two books. I have already tracked down two copies of this book, one for my son’s library and to lend out with Fly, Cherokee, Fly and one donated to my children’s School library.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey. As well as an author profile and interview with Chris.

[Sharonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story with interesting drama between old and new characters.