Anderson, M.T. The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing, traitor to the nation; vol. 1; the pox party.

ANDERSON, M.T. The astonishing life of Octavian Nothing, traitor to the nation; vol. 1; the pox party. Candlewick. 368p. c2006.0-7636-2402-0. $17.99. SA

This dark, ambitious novel by the author of Feed and other books for YAs is set against the backdrop of the American Revolution. Written in the style of the 18th century, it tells of young Octavian, who grows up in a Boston household of philosophers and scientists. He is clothed in silks, taught to play the violin, and given the finest classical education--and then learns he is just an experimental subject. He and his beautiful, witty mother, an African princess, are slaves, and the liberty for which the patriots in his household are agitating most certainly does not extend to them. Octavian's mother contracts a bad case of smallpox and dies, and Octavian, now 16, runs away and joins the Revolutionary Army. He is recaptured by his masters and cruelly restrained (the cover depicts him in a iron mask), only to escape once again at the end, with the help of one of his teachers. The mannered prose and difficult vocabulary ("miasma," "leifer") recommend this to more sophisticated readers, who can appreciate the bitter irony of Octavian's treatment, the sly humor, and the hypocrisy of the concept of "liberty" in a culture that keeps slaves. This heartrending look at racism and the Revolution--often Gothic in tone, as the author comments in a note at the end that explains the facts on which he bases his fiction--is an unusual and compelling read. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.