Crispin: The
Cross of Lead is an adventure story set during medieval times. Known for his entire life only as Asta’s son,
Crispin doesn’t learn his true name until his mother’s death. Falsely accused of a theft, Crispin is
declared a “Wolf’s Head” and has to run for his life to avoid immediate
death. Finding a friend, Bear, on the
road the two wander on searching for the answers of who Crispin’s father is and
why Crispin is being hunted.
Crispin: The Cross of Lead was the March pick for the
Kewaunee Youth Book Club. My 12-year old
son Kile read this book on his own and loved it. He really likes adventure stories and the
medieval time setting. He is a fan of
The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe
series. There is no magic or fantasy in
Crispin: The Cross of Lead, but it’s
medieval time setting and adventure are intriguing to anyone who is a fan of
those series. I read the book with my 9
(almost 10) year old son Daniel using the flip flop method, I read two pages
and then he read two pages. Daniel did
not love the story as much as Kile. He
got into more as it progressed, but I think it was a bit intense for him with a
violent murder at the beginning and Crispin fleeing for his life. Kile and I had long figured out who Crispin
was and why they wanted him dead, but Daniel did not know. That kept him intrigued until the end of the
book.
I liked that a side story in the book has Bear working
on gaining freedom for all as England’s King Edward neared death. I love this time period of English history
and also enjoy a good road trip book. I
enjoyed it more than Daniel overall, as much as Kile did. I have heard of the author Avi but had never
read any of his books before. I found it
to be a very interesting book. It won
the Newbury Medal in 2003. I just looked
up the book and discovered there are sequels!
I think I need to read on. I want
to know if Bear ever gets his revolution started.
Favorite Quote:
“Bear used to catch the birds we ate: an unseen loop, pulled tight, until the unsuspecting
birds were caught. Perhaps we now were
those birds.”
Overall, Crispin:
The Cross of Lead is a thrilling historical fiction, adventure, coming
of age story. I and my 12-year old son
enjoyed it. My almost 10-year old son
was on the fence. It is a young adult
novel so I think the intensity was a bit too much for my ten year old. I recommend it for fans of The Hobbit or the
Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Book Source:
The Kewaunee Public Library
Laura, thanks for sharing your thoughts about this book. This series is new to me.
ReplyDeleteHave a terrific week!
Thank-you! It's new to me as well. I think I missed it before with it being after my childhood and before I had kids! We've put a hold on book#2 at the library and hope to keep reading on!
ReplyDeleteCrispin is nice! However, many of my classmates hate it.
ReplyDelete