Bookshop Review: Powell’s

Posted on by KnotMagick Studios

Last month I flew out to Portland to visit some relatives, and I have a confession to make: I didn’t know what Powell’s was until a friend dropped us off on the sidewalk in front of the store.

If you don’t know, Powell’s is a 3 story haven for book lovers, nestled in the heart of downtown Portland, OR. Stocking everything from board books to rare books and manuscripts, it is the largest new and used bookstore in the country.

I can’t even begin to describe it. I wish I’d taken pictures of the glory that Powell’s, if only to remember it by. It was an overwhelming experience–I didn’t even explore half the departments just because my brain fizzled out and could no longer process the concept of “there are more books in the next room.”

Over the course of two days, we made no less than 5 trips to the store. Yes, five. No, I did not purchase something every time, though I did walk away with a tidy haul.

The store itself is large enough to require a map, which can be found at the many information/customer service desks, as well as in the large elevators. The map is also a poster, so at least I had one free-of-charge souvenir of my visit.

Each room is identified by a color to make navigation easier, and there are many signs to help tourists find their way.

Most of my time was spent wandering through young adult and reading in the cafe. They had a massive selection of young adult novels and graphic novels, and I saw so many books I’d never even heard of. Considering how much time I spend on booktube and chatting with indie authors on Twitter, this is a pretty solid achievement. I did make time to explore the adult fiction, nonfiction, romance, mystery, fantasy, and periodical departments.

If you are a romance reader, you are probably one of the few people who will be disappointed. Powell’s dedicated only a single aisle to the genre (there were 2.5 for YA, which brings in a lot less in terms of sales than romance novels). I suspect this is because romance books dominate most other bookstores, and Powell’s seems dedicated to the hard-to-find.

However, if you are shopping for a reader under 18, then you will certainly have plenty to choose from. I have never seen so many kid’s books in my life. I saw everything from new releases I didn’t realize were out yet to picture books my dad grew up with.

The mystery and horror sections were equally tempting, but I had to walk away as I’d already spent my budget on YA and chai lattes.

Speaking of, while I thought the quality of the cafe drinks was good, the prices were high for the amount served–but that seems pretty typical for Portland. We did not try any of their food. I will say that on Saturday we met a friend and brought Voodoo donuts with us. No one said boo about the outside food and drink. Maybe because we’d spent so much time there the day before, or possibly because we also did buy warm drinks once we sat down (it was about 50 degrees that day, much colder than initially predicted).

The only drawback to Powell’s is that because it is a tourist destination, it is often loud and very crowded, especially on Saturday afternoons. If you plan a trip, I advise going during the week. This isn’t the type of bookstore where you can really camp out with a latte and work or read for a long period of time, just because there are so many people. Also, the cafe chairs are not super comfortable, and while there are nice big benches scattered liberally through the store, they aren’t upholstered or really the type of place that invites you to sit down and read the 1500 page epic you just purchased.

While the lines were long, there were lots of employees all over the store, willing to help with anything, and the checkout did move quickly. My only complaint is that there’s only one bathroom in the entire building, so there was always a line outside the ladies’ (I can’t speak for the men’s).

If you’re planning a trip to the west coast, you should definitely add Powell’s to your itinerary.

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

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Genre: middle grade general fiction
Format read: ebook
Content warning: bullying
Rep: Autistic coding
Rating: planchet-4

This was one of the formative books of my youth, and I recently decided to revisit it.

Originally published in 1964, it has aged remarkably well considering it doesn’t include cell phones. I can just imagine how much havoc Harriet would wreak if she had access to an iPhone and a laptop.

If you happened to miss this book growing up, let me give you the basics: Harriet is the eleven-year-old daughter of wealthy parents in New York City. Her parents are usually absent, either working or attending parties, leaving Harriet in the care of her nanny, Golly.

And this is where the autistic coding comes in: Harriet does not understand people, especially adults. So she watches them. Obsessively. She has a regular after school route she follows every day, watching the people in her neighborhood. She follows the same path, eats the same foods, and wears the same clothes every day. She knows she isn’t like other kids, but she doesn’t mind–she thinks other kids are pretty dumb, anyway, because they don’t see things the way she does.

She writes down everything she sees in a notebook. This notebook is meant for no one’s eyes except her own. No one else reads it–not her family, not Golly, not even her best friends.

But when one of her classmates gets their hands on it and reads it aloud to the entire sixth grade, Harriet learns just how unwelcome her observations and opinions can be. Suddenly ostracized in the classroom and on the playground, Harriet is at first not bothered by this.

When Golly gets fired, however, things go south quickly. With her world crumbling around her, Harriet can’t muster the will to get out of bed. The classroom has become an unsafe place, where her food is stolen, her work destroyed, and ink poured all over her.

This book moved me to tears in places, even so many years later. It’s obvious now that the poor kid just wanted a voice, but couldn’t find anyone to listen except Golly. When that was taken away, she cracked.

I related to her in so many ways in 5th and 6th grade. I wanted to be a reporter at the time and took to carrying a notebook with me everywhere, just like Harriet. I didn’t understand why everyone hated her so much. Now, I do understand. But that doesn’t mean I think Harriet was wrong.

It would take me an entire website to unpack my feelings about this book. Back in elementary school, I didn’t know it was part of a series. Now that I know this is just one book of several, I’ll definitely be picking up the rest soon.

The only reason I didn’t rank this book 5 stars was because of a few bits that did not age well. For starters, every time some is angry or mean (even if this is justifiable rage), they are referred to as “gestapo” or “Nazi”-like. Considering the general lack of representation in this book, that made me really uncomfortable. There are no characters identified as being POC, or of other religions. The only immigrants in the entire book are an Italian family on Harriet’s spy route. I’m not even sure how you can have a book that white in 1960s New York.

So, if you’re feeling nostalgic, or just looking for a quick read, I would give this one a go.

Slam! by Pamela Ribon and Veronica Fish

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Genre: sports
Format read: graphic novel
Series: Slam! vol 1
Rep: POC (multiple)
Rating: planchet-4

**This review contains spoilers**

In this graphic novel series, 2 very different young women try out for their local roller derby league and become best friends.

I loved the concept, and the artwork, which is well done and uses a somewhat limited color pallet.

Jen is a grad student with her life all worked out. Maisie is just coming out of a bad breakup and looking to get back on her feet and rebuild her confidence. The two of them meet at try outs and instantly hit it off. By the time selections are made, even their cats are good friends! (It’s super cute.)

But just as derby is helping get Maisie back in control of her life, Jen’s starts to spin out of control. On separate teams, they start seeing less and less of each other. It finally blows up on the track.

This story of friendship made me smile from beginning to end. I did think the story telling was a bit choppy, but that might have been because of the way it was published (I don’t know if this was originally a graphic novel or if it came out in issue format or as a webcomic). I did like the story and I loved the way they came back together in the end.

If you’re into derby, or just looking for more female-centric comics, then this is definitely one you should check out.

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee

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Genre: historical
Secondary genre: adventure
Format read: hardback
Positive Rep: POC (multiple, including Middle Eastern and African), mixed race, epilepsy, LGBT+ (gay and aro/ace), autistic coding, Muslim
Series: Montague Siblings vol 2
Rating: planchet-5

Henry “Monty” Montague entered the literary world with a splash in 2017 in The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue. For fans of our rakish hero concerned about this second book following his somewhat dowdy and straight laced sister, Felicity, let me allay your fears: Petticoats and Piracy is just as funny, queer, and heart-wrenching as the first volume in the series.

One of my favorite bits about this book is that it ca be read as a stand alone. While the backstory and family relationships will make a lot more sense to those who have read Vice and Virtue, Felicity’s story is all her own and she makes that very clear from the beginning: She has left home, supporting herself with part-time work at a bakery while attempting to gain admittance to an Edinburgh medical school in the late 1700s, or at least obtain some sort of apprenticeship on the subject.

Unfortunately, the prevailing attitude at the time is that women are unfit for the medical field–despite the fact that Felicity has, under hazardous and far less than ideal conditions, performed surgery on multiple occasions–including stitching up her own brother’s head after his ear was sliced off in the first book. In fact, in the first ten pages we see her stitching up her boss’s hand after he cuts the tip of his finger off.

Alas, while they are good friends, Callum wants more. When Felicity tries to let him down gently, this “nice guy” accuses her of leading him on and taking advantage of his kindness. The argument, combined with her latest rejection from the medical field, finally helps Felicity reach a decision: it’s time to leave Edinburgh, and have an adventure of her own.

The book is full of plot twists and lively, eccentric characters with easily the most effortlessly diverse cast I’ve reviewed to date.

From start to finish, I loved this book. I related so hard to Felicity. While she can be narrow minded about some things–especially what it means to be female or feminine–through the course of the book she changes her opinions and grows and changes as a person. I loved seeing the development of the various characters.

And never fear–Monty and Percy also show up, and while they do feature prominently in some scenes, they are far from stealing the show.

Definitely pick up this book–and Vice and Virtue–if you have’t yet. In fact, maybe it’s time to give it a re-read.

 

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

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Genre: YA Contemporary
Format read: audiobook
Content Warnings: mental illness/suicidal ideation (triggering)
Rep: POC (Turkish), mental illness
Rating: planchet-3

**This review contains spoilers**

Okay, I’m just going to lay it out this: In this book, 2 depressed teenagers make a suicide pact because they both want to die, but are scared to do it alone.

I knew this book dealt with mental health, but that’s basically all I knew about it going in.

Aysel’s father ruined her life when he got arrested for murder two years ago. Now her entire Kentucky town hates her for what he did.

Even more, Aysel hates herself. Her father suffered from mental illness (it’s implied to possibly be bipolar disorder, but ever specified; he was undiagnosed until his arrest), and Aysel feels herself capable of the same erratic and violent behavior. With no future ahead of her she determines to end her life before anyone can get hurt. Ignored by her mother and her step family, friendless, she feels the world is better off without her.

Online, she meets Roman, a boy her age from the next town. The two of them set a date for the act. Roman holds his cards close to his chest, unwilling to divulge much of his life or why he wants to die so badly. But in order for their plan to work, the two of them need to convince his mother that he’s “better,” reaching out and making friends so he’ll be able to get out of the house when the time comes.

And that’s all I’m willing to write about the plot. As someone who has struggled with depression for most of her life, and long periods of suicidal thoughts and self harm, this book was triggering to read. At times, I thought the rep was really good–depression has manifested differently for each of them; sometimes as sadness, lethargy, numbness, or anger. No one ever judged their sadness or deemed it unworthy.

BUT. My problem comes about 3/4 of the way through the book. And this is where the spoilers start.

As their partnership turns into friendship, Aysel starts to fall for Roman. When she finally realizes this, suddenly she wants to live again. All of a sudden she realizes her family has been reaching out to her the whole time. She signs up for a science program at the encouragement of her teacher.

She doesn’t reach out and meet new friends, or form tighter bonds with her family. Her annoying sister is still super annoying and rude. She has one heart-to-heart with her mother that somehow fixes all the tension and distance that has been between them since Aysel was a year old and her mom walked out and remarried. Aysel becomes convinced she can use her love to save Roman’s life.

This is a prime example of a character being “saved” by “twue rrove.”

when-anyone-uses-term-true-love

I hate it when this happens in fiction. This is not how depression works. It’s not how love works, either. Yes, it’s important to feel loved. To have connections. But it doesn’t suddenly fix everything or make depression go away overnight. While I did like Aysel and Roman as a couple, the whole situation just pissed me off.

Up to that point, I would say the book had good rep for mental health, but the ending means I can’t rate this book higher or recommend it for those suffering from depression.

As for the Turkish rep…Aysel is 1st generation Turkish-American. Her father was a murderer, and her mom walked out and has done everything she can to distance herself from her roots. The only thing recognizeably Turkish about Aysel and her upbringing is her name.

Realistic? Yeah. I know there are a lot of people who have come to the US with the intention of shedding their past wholesale. But is this good rep? As a white woman born to a family that has largely been in the US since the 1600s, I’m not the one to make that call. If you’ve read this book, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

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Genre: adult mystery
Secondary genre: historical, retelling
Format read: paperback
Rep: autistic coding, fat rep
Rating: planchet-3

Confession: I’m not a fan of Sherlock Holmes. I didn’t enjoy the source material. I don’t like the show with Benedict Cumberbatch. I have to be in the right mood to watch the Robert Downy Jr. movies, which only strikes about once a year.

BUT, I am always on the lookout for a historical mystery. I think the world needs more of them, especially stories that aren’t heavy on the romance.

I devoured Sherry Thomas’s Elemental Trilogy in about a week, so when I found out she’d also written a series of historical mysteries with a female lead who was autistic-coded, I put them on my TBR.

Which of course meant it took me two years to get to them. Anyway…

Charlotte Holmes doesn’t understand people, despite the way she’s spent her life observing them. Encouraged by her father to engage in Society before dismissing it out of hand, she casts off her favorite plain cotton dress for the frills and frippery of the drawing room, reining in her love of sweets to get her tightly-cinched waist down to acceptable proportions, and learns to make the dreaded Small Talk. While she finds she enjoys the textures and colors and shapes of fashion, she still can’t see herself as Lady this or that, but when she asks her father to uphold his promise to allow her to pursue her education instead, he declines.

Hurt by the betrayal, Charlotte hatches a plan: She arranges to have herself deflowered by a married man (so she can’t be forced to marry him) then blackmail her father into paying for her education to get her off the marriage market.

Thing’s go sideways, however, when her paramour’s mother walks in on them, publicly announcing the embarrassment to the world and ruining Charlotte’s plans. Now she has no leverage and her parents want to send her away. She does the only thing she can: she sneaks out and decides to live on her own, despite having little money and fewer prospects.

When Lady Shrewsbery, the sharp-tongued matron who ruined Charlotte’s plan, turns up dead the next morning, however, it’s Charlotte’s beloved sister Livia who is implicated, after taking Lady Shrewsbery to task for her actions in a drunken rage.

The 3rd person narrative flips back and forth between Charlotte, Livia, and Inspector Treadles, very much in the Sherlock Holmes style.

For me, this made it very hard to follow and hard to get immersed in the narrative, which is why I only rated it 3 stars (actually, it’s 3.5, but I don’t have a graphic for that and Goodreads does’t allow half stars). If you pick up this book, definitely plan to read it in one or two sittings; breaking it into 20 minute segments makes it very hard to follow the story.

I’ve read several Sherlock short stories, and this book keeps the spirit of the feel of the stories without the obnoxious characters. I really hate books where you have a semi-useless narrator describing the actual main character (think The Great Gatsby). I loved all of the characters and descriptions far more than in the original, and really want to read more about Charlotte and Livia. I also loved Mrs. Watson, a former actress who spearheads Charlotte’s impersonation of the male detective.

I have been told that the 2nd book, Conspiracy in Belgravia, is better than the 1st book, so if you have difficulty with Scarlet Women, maybe reserve judgement until you’ve read the second book.

 

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

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Genre: YA fantasy
Format read: audiobook and ebook
Rating: DNF

This book has been on my Overdrive wishlist…pretty much since I first signed up for Overdrive, so I was really disappointed once I actually got around to reading it.

This series follows the citizens of 3 countries as they prepare to go to war. The characters range from a princess to a peasant.

Other than that, I can’t tell you much about Falling Kingdoms. I made it to about the 10% mark before I gave up. Listening on audio, it was hard to follow due to constant head hopping. The prologue is from one character’s perspective–who then dies–and then the subsequent four chapters are all from a different POV, occasionally re-hashing events that happened in the previous chapter.

In addition, the narrator for the audiobook did a really obnoxious voice for most of the characters, a sort of pseudo-British accent that sounded extremely fake and didn’t mesh at all with the setting, which seemed to be more closely related to a fantastical version of Italy than England.

I was having such a hard time following the story that I checked out the ebook and tried reading it concurrently with the audiobook. While that did help clear up some things (for example, there were bits where it was hard to tell what was dialogue and what was the internal thoughts of the characters), but there were too many other problems with the book for me to want to continue. There was a huge amount of info-dumping in the first few chapters, including some that was redundant, and one of the POV characters had a chapter that did absolutely nothing to further the story–it was a combination of backstory on the world and rehashing what had happened in the previous chapter.

So, if you’re looking for a good fantasy novel full of political intrigue, skip this one. Instead I’d like to point you toward The Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lacky, The Lunar Chronicles by Marrissa Meyer (okay, that one’s technically scifi. So sue me), The Daughter of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce, or The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner. Or you could just pick up Game of Thrones. 

From Twinkle With Love by Sandhya Menon

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Genre: YA Contemporary
Format read: audiobook
Rep: POC (multiple ethnicities), mixed race, LGBT
Rating: planchet-4

Twinkle is a self-described wallflower–a “groundling.” While she has trouble stringing two words together at school, she dreams of one day being a filmmaker. Alas, her youtube channel has a total of seven subscribers–four of them are porn bots, and three of them are accounts her grandma created because she kept forgetting her password.

In addition to directing movies that change lives, she also dreams of joining the “silk feathered hat” group at school, the group of popular kids that includes her crush, Neil, and her former best friend.

When someone suggests she make a film for the school’s annual summer event, Twinkle isn’t keen on the idea until Sahil–Neil’s twin brother–offers to help. A certified film critic, he knows how movies are made and plots work, and together they hatch a plan to create a gender-bent Nosferatu film to showcase at the big event. The film will be seen not only by the people with money and influence in the area, but also news crews, college scouts, and others that have the potential to change Twinkle’s life. Unless she gets a full ride, her chances of going to film school are non-existent; her family just can’t afford it.

Luckily, Sahil has the passion, talent, and cash to get the ball rolling on the film, and the two of them are soon working closely. So closely, in fact, that Twinkle’s crush starts to shift from one brother to the other.

But Twinkle has a secret she can’t tell Sahil: She suddenly has a secret admirer, and he shares and  initial with Sahil’s brother, Neil. Considering the deep rivalry and hurt separating the brothers, it would crush Sahil if he found out.

This is the second book by Sanhya Menon I’ve read, and I love her work. From diverse casts to quirky family members, she brings life as an Indian American teen into living color. For me, growing up in Super White, Nowhere, Ohio, it’s a drastic change from both how I spent my formative years and what I read now, and I love it.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book came near the end, and was relatively minor:

As things start to get rocky, as they tend to do near the climax of any book, Twinkle handles some situations poorly, and has to apologize to her friends and family. In each and every case, she apologizes very casually, and then the other person accepts the apology and offers their own for doing whatever they did wrong in the same situation. This happened with both teens and adults.

Should the world work this way? Absolutely. Does it? Hell no. Part of me wanted to see just one person snap back at her, especially since one of those apologies felt very out of character to me. Usually when I find myself apologizing to someone, they take it as their due and don’t offer any sort of apology in return, even if they were also wrong or behaved badly.

Yes, I am probably surrounded by assholes. But I also just found it really unrealistic that  a group of teenagers would be that forthcoming. But that’s just my own opinion of the situation, and it could certainly be taken as an aspirational sort of thing, to show the way people should behave.

Regardless, though, I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on Something about Sweetie.

Library Review: CML Dublin

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I am spoiled for libraries. I currently live smack dab in the middle of 2 different library systems, which means there’s 1 library I can walk to, 4 different locations within a 10-15 minute drive, and about a dozen others within 30 minutes.

For the last year and a half, “my” local library (the one I visit the most) has been under construction. Well, reconstruction. A limited selection of inventory was moved to a strip mall, the old building was torn down, and a new building with a parking garage was built.

Monday was my first time visiting the new Dublin Library. I’ve been looking forward to this for the past year, watching as the construction progressed on my daily commute.

I’ve already shared my haul over on my Instagram (@knotmagick), but I thought I’ve give you my thoughts on the new library itself.

Now, the old library was perfectly adequate in most respects, but it was somewhat dark, and needed more in the way of work spaces and power outlets. The YA department was negligible, and parking was very limited, with only about 50-100 spaces, which were also shared with the general community and an adjoining park. This parking lot had a weird layout and was entirely one-way, making it hard to find a space or get around someone if they were doing something stupid.

It was crowded as the community has expanded a lot in the past few years, and more housing was being build immediately adjacent to the library both in the year prior to the reconstruction and during the process. It continues now, as well, with more apartments and condos going in.

And therein is what I feel was the main impetus for the change–the neighborhood has become more affluent, and the library didn’t keep up visually. Which annoys me–they could have saved a lot of money by creating an addition to the existing building (they had the space). I feel like this would have been the more responsible action to take, but I also didn’t work in the building and I know the “behind the scenes” spaces were somewhat limited.

Anyway. The new building is very modern. Not my style, but whatever. The 4 story parking garage was much needed–I was able to find a parking space quickly and easily. But the signage for getting to the library wasn’t great. There was a foot path to a locked door, which meant walking around to the front of the building. Which is fine, but I was expecting a covered walkway or a more obvious connection between the garage and the library–a skywalk or something. Maybe it’s just because of the part of the garage I parked in (I was in the back corner), but still.

 

The ramp and arch echo the war memorial located just north of the library.
The library as seen from the intersection of Dublin Rd and North St.

The lack of signage continued into the building itself. The basement/”main floor” (entered at street level, which is downhill) has a cafe (not open yet) and meeting rooms.

20190611_152615
I admit, I do love these reading nooks. Can we get some in adult sizes, please?

The first floor is mostly dedicated to patrons 12 and under. I identified the children’s area by the aquarium, tunnel-like lounge seating, and dozens of screaming children climbing all over. It invited play more than study or reading time, there there were areas with work spaces and arm chairs for reading or working. I’m not sure how anyone could work with all that noise, though. The high ceilings and industrial feel of the building compounded the effect, and even the adult areas were very loud. Headphones or the use of a quiet study room (of which there are now many on the second floor) would be a must.

I also love the aquarium.

A long flight of stairs led up to the second floor. While the patrons that donated to the library’s construction were clearly marked, the departments were not. I had to ask for a map just to figure out where I was.

20190611_152739_hdr
A view of the 2nd floor, showing some of the couches and workstations. About halfway down on the left, you can see how low the catalog computers are.

The library increased the space for workstations, quiet study, and computer usage by about 3 fold, if not more. The adult fiction section is about double the size, YA increased by 50%, and nonfiction appears to be about 50% bigger as well, but it was hard to tell because rather than the tall shelves they had before, all of the shelves in the adult and nonfiction departments were only 4′ tall.

In fact, only in the YA room did anything exceed a height of 4′. Even the catalog computers were placed exceptionally low. I’m 5’4″, and though I was wearing heels (about 1.5″) I had to crouch to reach the keyboard. This was awkward and uncomfortable, especially combined with the fact that the screen, while larger than at the old branch, was mounted at chest height for me and could not be raised or even tilted to get a better angle. While this set up is great for kids, people in wheelchairs, or those that are just plain short, it would be difficult or impossible for anyone taller (even just 5’7″), using crutches, with a bad back or a vision problem to use. I kept having to crouch to see titles or screens, or even just to figure out what nonfiction department I was in. I feel like a better compromise could have been reached. With the height and industrial look of the ceilings (lots of exposed pipes and supports) it would be easy to hang movable signage, such as what is used in retail stores. Even just placing a table-top marker on top of the short shelves would have been  helpful.

The focus of this library is clearly on computer usage, as noted by the increased number of work stations. Comfortable seating for reading or working (i.e. sofas, etc) is a  bit harder to come by, especially during busy times. The work station chairs are mostly plastic and modern looking, but surprisingly comfortable from what I’ve tried. They are a significant improvement over the hard, straight backed wood chairs still in use at the Whetstone location.

My last and biggest pet peeve after the lack of signage is that they reduced the number of DVDs and Blu Ray movies they stock, and cut CDs completely. I love going to the library to browse music–I’ve found so many new artists that way, and so much international music I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise. Now I’ll have to go to a different branch when I want to do that–that that was the number 1 thing I was looking forward to when this one reopened. CDs can still be reserved and delivered to this location, but you have to know what you’re looking for in order to do that.

Overall, it felt like the redesign put form over function. While the space is much brighter and more open, it just feels like more could have been done with it, or it could have been utilized better.

Is there a book-related location in the state of Ohio you’d like me to review? Let me know! I’ll also be in Charleston, SC at the end of this month!

The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli

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Genre: Children’s historical
Format read: hard copy
Representation: Disability, possible autistic coding?
Rating: planchet

When my roommate found out I never read this book as a child, she insisted I had to read it. Honestly, I’d never even heard of it before she brought it up and put it very firmly on my TBR pile.

I think this is considered a chapter book, but children’s lit isn’t my area of expertise. It follows Robin, a young boy in medieval England who is left at home with the servants while his Father is off fighting the Scots with the king and his mother has been called in the service of the queen, who is unwell. But then Robin falls ill, and while he has recovered he’s lost the use of his legs. Meanwhile, plague is ravaging London and the servants run off, leaving this disabled child completely alone.

He’s saved when a monk, a friend of his father, comes to check on him, and takes him back to the monastery. Brother Luke tolerates his bursts of anger and frustration at his newfound situation and loneliness, and helps him find a new normal before taking him to be rejoined with his parents.

Overall, the plot is solid but because this is a short book, barely 100 pages, there isn’t much room for subplots or character developement. For the first two thirds of the book Robin is an obnoxious asshole (understandably, so, but he’s still annoying), and as things heat up at the end the resolution seems too simple.

Maybe this is just because I’m an adult reading a kids book, but I really wanted this to be a 500 page epic a la The Pillars of the Earth, to really get into Robin’s quest to heal and find himself in a world where he’d be easily pushed aside.

I didn’t rate it very high, but that’s my personal opinion. If there’s a kid in your life who is maybe struggling with a physical disability, or a major change in their life, then this would probably be a good book for them to pick up. Or even just to spark an interest in history.