Author: Avi
Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Historical Fiction
I will confess immediately, that in high school, history was one of my least favorite subjects. I forced myself to study, but the dates, the REASONS why things happened the way they did, the cause and effects all were not my cup of tea. I preferred thinking about other things, namely reading books. In retrospect, I wish I had read more historical fiction while growing up as I think it would have changed how I perceived history. The smaller stories of how history affected individuals lives is much more interesting to me, and somehow makes history that much more palatable.
I know I am not alone in this, as I talk to many of my students and many say that they do not enjoy history. For them, this book may be a bit hard, as it is strongly detailed in historical facts, even though the story itself is fiction. In the book takes place in the 1300's, and in it, Asta's Son, whom we later find out is Crispin, is forced to run away from the small feudal village of which he is a part. He is framed as a criminal, and the head steward of that village is out to get him. It is not clear why the steward needs to kill him, but it becomes clear that he is absolutely committed to getting rid of Crispin.
Crispin is forced to run away, in dirty clothes, with no money, no food, and no ability to read or write. He runs and somehow meets a huge hulk of a man, Bear, who takes him under his wing. Bear is a wonderful protector of Crispin, although Crispin initially does not trust Bear, nor does he want to be at all a part of Bear's life. In the end, Crispin risks everything to save Bear, as Bear has done his utmost to save Crispin from the steward.
It is a thrilling book with lots of rich historical details. However, there is quite a bit of violence in the book, images of men decaying in the gallows, heads cut off, and bloody wounds. Some of the ideas may also be a bit complex - an orphan child with no parents, whom we discover is actually born out of wedlock to a noble lady who was basically taken (as in raped) without her consent. The words rape, sex are not used in the book, but are in the background as things that will come up, because it is revealed that Crispin is actually the illegitimate bastard son of the Lord Furnival, a debauched, less-than-lovely character.
It is a wonderfully complex book to read, with rich historical details and may perhaps inspire someone to become slightly more interested in history.
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