But how can an angel die? What has it to do with the monks of the Abbey? When two hooded strangers arrive at Crowfield asking questions about the angel's grave, Will is drawn into a world of dangerous Old Magic.Īlz's Take: This book is touted as MG and I approached it with that mindset. Somewhere in the forest behind the abbey where he lives,is a grave. Sent into the forest to gather wood, he rescues instead, a creature from a trap - a hob, who shares with Will a terrible secret. Pros: Brilliantly researched, deft handling of historical, religious, and folkloric themes, writing doesn't feel 'simplified' for kids.Ĭons: Quite a few loose ends because it's the first book of a trilogy, protagonist is a good boy but not particularly unique or engaging.īook Blurb: It's 1347 and fifteen-year-old Will, an orphan boy, lives at Crowfield Abbey. The story actually turned out to be less about angels and more about fairy folklore, but this did not at all disappoint me. Overall, The Crowfield Curse is a fantastic, spellbinding novel, the greatest piece of literature I've ever read and I can't wait to read the sequel, The Crowfield Demon.The idea of a dead angel buried behind an abbey caught my attention.

This does not have the charm of the Harry Potter series, but it's a wonderful book nonetheless. You can always come up with theories for this book.Īs mentioned in the paragraph before, I recommend this book to children aged 9-13 years, especially those interested in that time period or in magical creatures. It's difficult to imagine anyone today being so philosophical about hard work, hunger or cold.

I was also interested to see how matter of fact the hardships were.

Even if it is a book mostly targeted for children aged 9-13, this is a very detailed look at medieval life and it really shows how difficult life was then. I would love to see The Crowfield Curse as a movie so I could see how the characters are brought to life.Īnother really great thing is that the author doesn't skimp on historical detail. Even when you are 100% positive you think you know what's going to happen it goes all twisted and the author (Pat Walsh) adds a new development. It's so hard to tell how the story is going to turn out. The mystery that Will is drawn into is genuinely intriguing. Which, in my opinion, all adds up to a tenacious hero. Although frightened a great deal of the time, he continually strives to do what he believes is best for others. He is kind, fair and tender-hearted, able to move past conventional beliefs in order to see the bigger picture.

The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh