''The Kingdom of Kevin Malone'' is a 1993

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

by American author

Suzy McKee Charnas Suzy McKee Charnas (October 22, 1939 – January 2, 2023) was an American novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the N ...

. The novel narrates a story of a boy who creates an imaginary world called Fayre Farre to escape his abusive father.

Plot

Kevin Malone has a troubled childhood with history of abuses by his father. To escape the miseries of his real life, he creates a fantasy world called "Fayre Farre" in which he is "The Promised Champion", the hero of the world. Amy, a fourteen-year-old girl, enters this fantasy world one day while she is roller-skating at New York's

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. Amy has been running away from her own real-life problems. She has lost her cousin Shelly, and Amy's father wants the family to relocate to Los Angeles as he wants to pursue a career in Hollywood. The anticipation of losing her best friends by moving away depresses Amy. She accidentally enters the make-believe world of Kevin, her neighbor who used to bully her in the past. In Fayre Farre, The Promised Champion is losing his supremacy, as the evil "White Warrior Anglower" expands his armies to gain control over the kingdom. Through a series of adventures, Kevin wins over the White Warrior Anglower, taking help from Amy and her friends. At the end, Anglower is shown as the reincarnation of Kevin's father and Amy accepts the death of her cousin.

Development

The book is set in New York, where Charnas was born. She later moved to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, New Mexico, but decided to plot the book in New York in response to people who would express their sympathy about her growing up in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and "to write about the reality of growing up in a place of physical freedom, thrilling unpredictability, and a enormous, nourishing energy". The book is based on Charnas' experience of being

bullied Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an im ...

as a child.

Publishing history

The original hardcover edition was published by

Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...

and illustrated by artist

Michael Hussar Michael Hussar is an American painter from Southern California. He was trained at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Early life Hussar was born 1964 in Southern California. He first took interest in art because of his father who ...

. An electronic version was released in June 2001 by ElectricStory.com.

Reception

Hazel Davis for

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents ALAN, The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents is a teachers organization in the United States, an independent assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Founded in November 1973, ALAN is made up of teachers, authors, libraria ...

appreciated the work of Charnas to combine the real-life problem of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

, losing friends, and grieving death with the fantasy elements of monsters, prophesies, magic, and violence. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' called it an "engrossing story" for the proper mix of real and unreal worlds. In 1994 the novel won the Mythopoeic Society Award in the Children's Literature category. The award "honors books for beginning readers to age thirteen, in the tradition of ''The Hobbit'' or ''The Chronicles of Narnia''".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingdom Of Kevin Malone, The Novels by Suzy McKee Charnas 1993 American novels 1993 fantasy novels