Book Review: The Death-Defying Pepper Roux by Geraldine McCaughrean

Genre: 
Adventure stories, historical fiction

Interest Level:
Ages 10 and up

Reading Level:
Lexile 920, Grades 4 and up

Book Theme:
Adventure, running away from family, changing identity

Books with Similar Themes:  
The Mostly True Adventure of Homer P. Figg by W. R. Philbrick,  Maniac McGee by Jerry Spinelli

Bibliographic Information:
McCaughrean, G. (2009). The death-defying Pepper Roux. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. 

Plot:  
Young Pepper Roux is a young boy from France who has just turned fourteen. It's a day he has dreaded his whole life. When he was born his aunt Mireille, a devout Catholic, dreams that St. Constance speaks to her and predicts that Pepper will die when he turns fourteen. His whole family believes the aunt and spend all of Pepper's life waiting for his untimely death. They are sure his fourteenth birthday is his death sentence, and so is Pepper, so he decides to run away from death  by stealing his father's identity as a ship's captain. While posing as his father the ship is sunk under questionable circumstances Pepper must change his identity again in order to avoid trouble, which leads him on a wild adventure of repeatedly changing his identity and running to a new one, all the time afraid that St. Constance and death will finally find him. It eventually it becomes clear that his past and all the running are going to catch up with him. Can Pepper survive, or will his life end?

Review:  
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux is a story that is both beautifully written and captivating. Pepper's adventure's are so vivid that you want to know what will happen to him next and who he will be. Pepper is a young boy who is struggling to find his place in the world like many tweens, and to make sense of a family belief that has haunted him his whole life. Pepper also, like many tweens, wants to establish independence. He chooses to try to escape his fate instead of waiting for it to overtake him like his aunt would have him do, something many tweens will admire. Pepper is also a tween that others can relate to because his is naive about some things, which gets him into trouble, but he is also much wiser than some give him credit for. Pepper Roux is a story tweens will love for its adventures and suspense, and for the character of Pepper himself. It's a great read for any tween who wants to read a great story of adventure and self-discovery.

Notable Tweens:
 Pepper Roux- Pepper is the only tween who is prominent in this story, but what a tween he is! Pepper is intelligent, adventurous, and resourceful, which can be seen each time he changes identity. The death prediction has made Pepper an old soul in many ways, and although he is young he typically fits in better with adults than those of his own age group. Despite his obvious youth many adults forget how young he is and view him as an adult as well. Pepper can fool adults, but his lack of life experience is often what gets him into trouble and forces him to assume another identity. In spite of that Pepper is a loveable child who longs to escape his curse and to find a place that he can call home.