From: Shutta Crum <shutta>
Date: Sat, 15 Feb 2003 17:51:24 -0500

I, too, enjoyed Crispin very much. I liked the action, characters, setting, etc. I was concerned that the ending seemed to be so obvious...but as others have said, perhaps with younger readers this will not be an issue. And half the fun is that the book starts out with so much going on. I think it will be a good one to recommend to my younger library users.

As an author, what I found interesting was Crispin's speech--esp. for someone so unschooled, overworked, and neglected. It seemed too perfect to my ear. However, it did help to create a time and place for me as I read. So, it worked...

What did not work so well for me, was the action within the palace as Crispin went to rescue Bear. Could this child have actually overpowered a grown man? I felt like I had to set aside some belief in the story in order to finish reading and find out what happened to Bear. I did enjoy the "unfinished" feel to the ending, but wonder how kids will like that.

Shutta Crum

www.shuttacrum.com
Received on Sat 15 Feb 2003 04:51:24 PM CST