rcliffordolson's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
halschrieve's review against another edition
5.0
In 1242, in the area that would one day be France but was at the moment sort of a collection of kingdoms only kind of under the control of a king, live three eleven-year-old children who are all in horrible danger.
Black monk William, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a North African woman, has been sent away from his monastery after getting into an argument with another monk and smashing a marble bench in what can only be described as a miracle. Peasant girl Jeanne, who sees visions of the future, has to flee her hometown after she witnesses the resurrection of a heroic dog that the townspeople revere as a saint, and promptly saves it from agents of the Church who have been sent to destroy it. Meanwhile, a boy named Jacob, equipped with healing powers, sets off alone to find his uncle, the Rabbi Yehuda, after the Jewish quarter of town he lives in is burned to the ground.
Tracking all three children is an Inquisitor (someone who works for the Church and decides if people should be persecuted by it). He hears their tale from a group of strangers at an inn who have each independently had contact with one or another of the children at different points along their journey. As each new person tells a story, readers get a better picture of everything that has happened—of course, that’s assuming that any one of these people is telling the truth.
This book is fun to read and full of bloody battles, witty arguments about religion, magical dreams, evil men with very sad backstories, and a diverse, thriving, artistic, funny, dirty, bloody society. It includes murderous Crusaders, piles of dung, farting dragons, stinky cheese, fools, bandits, and weak ale. It also includes prophetic dreams, friendships across religious lines, intelligent women and girls, efforts to rescue books from burning, brave warriors, a magic dog, and a great deal of hope about what we can make the world if we work together. As an added bonus, there are beautiful “illuminations”–tiny illustrations–by artist Hatem Aly, which trace the edges of each page just like they would in an old medieval book. Great for fans of The Tale of Despereaux, Jane Yolen’s The Young Merlin trilogy, or Serafina and the Black Cloak.
Black monk William, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a North African woman, has been sent away from his monastery after getting into an argument with another monk and smashing a marble bench in what can only be described as a miracle. Peasant girl Jeanne, who sees visions of the future, has to flee her hometown after she witnesses the resurrection of a heroic dog that the townspeople revere as a saint, and promptly saves it from agents of the Church who have been sent to destroy it. Meanwhile, a boy named Jacob, equipped with healing powers, sets off alone to find his uncle, the Rabbi Yehuda, after the Jewish quarter of town he lives in is burned to the ground.
Tracking all three children is an Inquisitor (someone who works for the Church and decides if people should be persecuted by it). He hears their tale from a group of strangers at an inn who have each independently had contact with one or another of the children at different points along their journey. As each new person tells a story, readers get a better picture of everything that has happened—of course, that’s assuming that any one of these people is telling the truth.
This book is fun to read and full of bloody battles, witty arguments about religion, magical dreams, evil men with very sad backstories, and a diverse, thriving, artistic, funny, dirty, bloody society. It includes murderous Crusaders, piles of dung, farting dragons, stinky cheese, fools, bandits, and weak ale. It also includes prophetic dreams, friendships across religious lines, intelligent women and girls, efforts to rescue books from burning, brave warriors, a magic dog, and a great deal of hope about what we can make the world if we work together. As an added bonus, there are beautiful “illuminations”–tiny illustrations–by artist Hatem Aly, which trace the edges of each page just like they would in an old medieval book. Great for fans of The Tale of Despereaux, Jane Yolen’s The Young Merlin trilogy, or Serafina and the Black Cloak.
literatehedgehog's review against another edition
4.0
What an odd little book! I'd heard mixed reviews from adults, and glowing praise from 5th graders, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
The narrative structure is excitingly different for middle grade novels: the story is chronological, but each chapter is narrated by a different speaker at an inn. The revelation of the "I" identity during these inn interruptions was juicy, with just enough tantalizing clues parsed out before the big reveal.
The genre is also enjoyably difficult to pinpoint: Is it historical fiction, set in the high Middle Ages? Is it magical realism, albeit where the "magic" and mysticism is based in religion and possible saintliness? The story certainly does not consider itself Very Quite Serious (dragon fart jokes, I'm looking at you), or even Somewhat Moralistic Preachy, although there were opportunities for didacticism. It made me feel like Wrinkle in Time, the feelings and morals are right there for taking. But I think that's a good thing - kids of this age group are OK with things, especially feelings and morals, being spelled out if the story is good enough to hold it. And this adventurous, heartfelt, sometimes quirky-weird, story is.
Well deserved Newbery medal, you.
The narrative structure is excitingly different for middle grade novels: the story is chronological, but each chapter is narrated by a different speaker at an inn. The revelation of the "I" identity during these inn interruptions was juicy, with just enough tantalizing clues parsed out before the big reveal.
The genre is also enjoyably difficult to pinpoint: Is it historical fiction, set in the high Middle Ages? Is it magical realism, albeit where the "magic" and mysticism is based in religion and possible saintliness? The story certainly does not consider itself Very Quite Serious (dragon fart jokes, I'm looking at you), or even Somewhat Moralistic Preachy, although there were opportunities for didacticism. It made me feel like Wrinkle in Time, the feelings and morals are right there for taking. But I think that's a good thing - kids of this age group are OK with things, especially feelings and morals, being spelled out if the story is good enough to hold it. And this adventurous, heartfelt, sometimes quirky-weird, story is.
Well deserved Newbery medal, you.
rsopher's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
darwinreads's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
eggboybee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I listened to the audiobook, and really enjoyed it. The multivoice setup really worked for the Canterbury Tales-esque setup. Fantastic cast of characters, and a really good story overall. Would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death
g_newton98's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
pagesofpins's review against another edition
5.0
I thought I would love this story about the adventures of three very young saints because of the way medieval life is seamlessly woven into the story, that the author had the story "illuminated" with border illustrations throughout, and the Canterbury Tales style method of storytelling--and those were indeed well done. Medieval children's books are my jam. But what I really admire about this book is that the three Chosen One characters have to struggle through the biases that they've acquired in their world--are women really sinful temptresses like I learned in the abbey? Are all Christians like the ones who burned down my village? Are peasants fools? Don't all Jews have horns?
Three children leading very different lives (one a Jewish healer living in a world very wary of Jews, one a peasant girl with a holy dog and the ability to see the future in visions--who desperately hopes she isn't a witch, and the giant offspring of a Christian crusader and an African Muslim who has superhuman strength) find themselves on the run together. Soon, everyone is looking for these children who can do amazing (miraculous?) things. Are they saints to be venerated, or devils to be destroyed? The children are thrown together while running for their lives, and must figure out the truth about the lies society has told them, while society figures out the truth about them. We tackle big questions about how God interacts with injustice, why we have religious persecution, orthodoxy, and how many different ideas there are out there about how God works.
All timely today.
Three children leading very different lives (one a Jewish healer living in a world very wary of Jews, one a peasant girl with a holy dog and the ability to see the future in visions--who desperately hopes she isn't a witch, and the giant offspring of a Christian crusader and an African Muslim who has superhuman strength) find themselves on the run together. Soon, everyone is looking for these children who can do amazing (miraculous?) things. Are they saints to be venerated, or devils to be destroyed? The children are thrown together while running for their lives, and must figure out the truth about the lies society has told them, while society figures out the truth about them. We tackle big questions about how God interacts with injustice, why we have religious persecution, orthodoxy, and how many different ideas there are out there about how God works.
All timely today.