Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older

Abstract

Reviewed by: Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel José Older Wesley Jacques Older, Daniel José Dactyl Hill Squad. Levine/Scholastic, 2018 [272p] ISBN 978-1-338-26881-2 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys M Gr. 4-7 In an alternate 1860s New York City where dinosaurs are a large part of daily life, Magdalys Roca (not Margaret Rocheford, as the matrons at the Colored Orphan Asylum insist on calling her to suppress her Afro-Cuban heritage) is drawn to the prehistoric creatures but knows that her skin color prevents her from riding brachys, dactyl jumping, and other dino-human interactions. Magdalys also longs for her two sisters, who were taken and sold into slavery, and the brother who left the orphanage to fight in the ongoing Civil War. After a racially motivated fire destroys the orphanage, Magdalys and her friends must become the kid-sized eyes and ears of the Vigilance Committee, a group of abolitionists, activists, and spies. The group's main opposition is the cartoonishly villainous, raptor-riding Rich Riker and his "Kidnapping Club," who seek to ship the orphan children of New York City back into slavery. As the kids work to thwart Riker, Magdalys comes to terms with her special ability to telepathically control dinosaurs. Unfortunately, the anachronistic beasts are incorporated into transportation and communication à la an uninspired Flintstones, and the involvement of things like a mosasaurus—a large, difficult-to-control aquatic lizard—in a battle to save the children from slavery is a jarring contrast that feels tone deaf to the issues at hand. End matter focus on notable people, historical details, and dinosaur facts that are skimmed over in this unwieldy mashup and hurried adventure. Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois