Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this is a darker view of Middle Ages serfdom than one usually encounters.
Readers may want to do some research to find out what life was really like for peasants, and what John Ball tried to do about it.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
There's a lot here to keep young readers enthralled. The plot itself is an exciting adventure, with a gritty edge just violent enough to keep the pages turning. The details of the medieval setting are fascinating, and offer a picture of peasant life much more grim than most other books set in this time period.
Crispin is an appealing character, and Bear even more so, and Crispin's progress in learning from Bear to be a juggler and musician is very satisfying. There are mysteries and suspense and plot twists, though alert readers will have figured out the major mystery long before Crispin does. One odd omission is that there's no Author's Note to explain the historical background, and a map would have been nice as well.
From The Book
Aycliffe stared at me for a long while as if in search of something. All he said, however, was "With your mother gone you're required to deliver your ox to the manor house tomorrow. It will serve as the death tax."
"But... sir," I said--for my speech was slow and ill formed--"if I do... I ... I won't be able to work the fields."
"Then starve," he said and rode away without a backward glance.
Plot Summary:
In 1300s England, the night after Crispin's mother dies, he overhears a conversation between John Aycliffe, steward of the manor, and a stranger. Suddenly he finds himself hunted, accused of theft. When the priest who tries to help him turns up dead, Crispin is also accused of murder. Fleeing the village in which he has spent his entire life, he takes up with a wandering juggler called Bear.
Still pursued by Aycliffe and his men, they try to lose themselves in a large town, Great Wexly, where Bear has secret plans to meet with the revolutionary, John Ball. Crispin is thrilled just to see such a big town. But there is more to his past than he knows, and a much bigger reason why Aycliffe is so determined to kill him.
Related Books:
Another Crispin Adventure:
Crispin: At the Edge of the World
Other Books by Avi:
The Barn
Nothing but the Truth
Poppy
S.O.R. Losers
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
Who Was that Masked Man, Anyway?
Sometimes I Think I Hear My Name
Poppy and Rye
The Christmas Rat
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ViolenceA priest's throat is slit, a hung man is described, a bear is tortured, and a man is impaled. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoMen drinking in a pub. |
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