A review by kathykekmrs
The Battle for the Castle, by Elizabeth Winthrop
2.0
Once upon a time a book of this nature would have had a dream sequence. I do not know if it is a good or bad thing that dreams have been taken away from Children's Fantasy novels, but it does make some of the action illogical. There is no logic to a dream and therefore it works as a good device to introduce an illogical series of events. It could be that it has been a long time since I have read children's books and they do not seem complete to me. I am always looking for details that are not in the story to make it be more detailed and logical to the order of the universe.
This is a coming of age novel about two recently turned twelve-year-old boys. In the town that they live in a boy must jump a train before he turns thirteen. William's legs are not strong enough for this rite of passage. Williamm is given a token on his birthday by his nanny who moved across the ocean. This token allows him to shrink to fit inside a castle also given by this woman. In this castle it is six hundred years earlier and William finds a different way to prove he is a man than by jumping over a freight train.
I do not mind coming of age novels. This one feels weak because the author shows disdain for the initiation of train jumping. Yes, it is dangerous and not something I would have tried. Then again, I live in New Jersey with electrified third rails so playing around train tracks was never recommended anyway because of the danger of electrocution. I understand that there is always a child who is unable to perform the prescribed rite of passage and feels as if he were always going to be a little boy. There are many passages that explain to William that it is okay not to jump. The book just does not do a great job of explaining how two boys went to a castle and discovered that they were on the brink of growing up.
This is a coming of age novel about two recently turned twelve-year-old boys. In the town that they live in a boy must jump a train before he turns thirteen. William's legs are not strong enough for this rite of passage. Williamm is given a token on his birthday by his nanny who moved across the ocean. This token allows him to shrink to fit inside a castle also given by this woman. In this castle it is six hundred years earlier and William finds a different way to prove he is a man than by jumping over a freight train.
I do not mind coming of age novels. This one feels weak because the author shows disdain for the initiation of train jumping. Yes, it is dangerous and not something I would have tried. Then again, I live in New Jersey with electrified third rails so playing around train tracks was never recommended anyway because of the danger of electrocution. I understand that there is always a child who is unable to perform the prescribed rite of passage and feels as if he were always going to be a little boy. There are many passages that explain to William that it is okay not to jump. The book just does not do a great job of explaining how two boys went to a castle and discovered that they were on the brink of growing up.