Pawnee Warrior

Pigeons I can take or leave, and on the whole I’m happier leaving them. Having read Pawnee Warrior, I now know quite a bit more than I did (nothing) about pigeon breeding and racing. The point of this personal information is that for me Pawnee Warrior is an excellent example of the way in which a story can absorb a reader in a hitherto uninteresting topic.

Pawnee Warrior takes up where the highly acclaimed Fly, Cherokee, Fly stops. The concluding page of Fly, Cherokee, Fly shows Darryl Otterwell finding two eggs in the nest of his pet pigeons. In Pawnee Warrior the eggs hatch, and Darryl is confronted with the dilemma of what to do with his fledglings in the face of his parents’ opposition to pigeon breeding: two pet pigeons – yes; lots of pigeons – no. Against this is set his mother’s troubled pregnancy, Darryl’s continuing bullying by Warren Spiggot, and his growing interest and confusion related to girls, and in particular the very different Susan and Suzie.

One of the strengths of this very likeable novel is the portrayal of the young people’s interaction with adults. D’Lacey wins the confidence of his readers by his creation of the worlds of school and home. Credibility is only strained at the rousing denouement when the unpleasant Warren is well and truly routed, but this is done in such an entertaining manner that it is a relatively minor caveat.

I also learned a bit about genetics from this book, and no, I haven’t joined the local pigeon fanciers club.