A harsh, patchy tale of the first Crusade. Bradford yokes a conventional romance between a young stonemason and the daughter of an apothecary to an ugly account of the unreasoning fervor, multiple treacheries, genocide, and bloody massacres that marked the People's Crusade, from Cologne to Jerusalem, in 1096. It's an uneasy match: Gentle, pacifist Bruno and 16-year-old Ursula, with her preference for hot baths and disdain for money, are not credible products of their times, and are never seriously affected by the violent events. Rather than burn at the stake as a witch, Ursula accompanies her feeble father on the march from Cologne to Constantinople. As the other Crusaders pillage towns and massacre Jews (offstage), Ursula heals an injured dog, rescues an abused child, repels assaults on her virtue, and survives two attacks, all without injury; Bruno is forced to kill a man (also offstage), but his depression lasts only until the two get back to Cologne and discover that they love each other. In the end, Ursula finds a bag of money in her burnt house, but gives it away, saying, ``I already have everything I need.'' Steer readers to Karen Cushman's The Midwife's Apprentice (1995) for its more richly developed characters and vivid, better-integrated picture of medieval life. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 0-525-67539-6
Page Count: 195
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
Bland writing and characters weaken the poignancy of dying parents. Laura meets her new neighbor Paul while he’s walking his dog, Folly. Laura and Paul develop quiet crushes on one another, and Laura befriends Paul’s boisterous parents. Laura’s close relationship with Paul’s folks upsets her own mother, already reeling from a diagnosis of breast cancer. While Laura copes with her mother’s impending mastectomy, and Paul with his father’s serious heart condition, Folly dies of a stomach tumor. Minor sibling rivalry provokes dreary tensions in Laura’s home. Despite their difficulties, Laura and Paul’s relationship blossoms—life goes on, after all—only to be interrupted when Paul’s father’s doctors insist the family move someplace warmer. Well-written, yet unengaging. (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2003
ISBN: 0-8234-1688-7
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2003
In a brave effort to draw martial arts film and game fans, Whitesel chronicles a young farm lad’s involuntary entry into a clan of astonishingly adept warriors. Having botched a chance to make good as a dyer’s apprentice, young Koji runs despairingly into the forest and finds himself held captive in a hidden rebel camp. Slowly, Koji falls under the spell of these seemingly superhuman ninja (they never use that word, but call themselves “grass”), who can dislocate their own joints at will and perform other eye-popping physical feats. Gradually developing into a strong, clever fighter himself, he joins them in a bizarrely convoluted plot to weaken the local daimyo by tricking him into rejecting the firearms recently introduced by European traders. However, the author’s long, slow setup may lose readers attuned to instant and continual action, and her focus on Koji’s emotional landscape and maturation is so close that the rough-hewn plot never acquires much suspense or sense of danger. Still, worth a try with readers of Lensey Namioka’s samurai mysteries, or (changing countries) Da Chen’s Wandering Warrior (2003). (glossary, historical note, two booklists) (Fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: March 22, 2004
ISBN: 0-618-38139-2
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2004
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