I suppose it’s kind of telling if your 9 year old daughter comes home with library books and you pick one up and say, “Hey, cool! This looks good. Can I read it??” But, that’s what happened. I did “let” her read it first, since I was still trying to slog through the French book. Thankfully, I gave that up, and thoroughly enjoyed being lost in Gerald Morris’s world of princesses and knights.
The book, according to the author’s note in the back, is based on an Arthurian romace tale written by Chretien de Troyes. Morris took the basic story (originally called the Knight of the Cart) and then added some extra characters, including heroine Sarah. She’s a fabulous character: strong, stubborn, kicks butt, and learns a few lessons along the way. You can’t help but love her. And many of the great Arthurain characters come into play, Kai (Arthur’s foster brother, often spelled Kay) and Gueneviere; Lancelot (though he goes under a different guise in this one); Gawain; and Morgan and Morgause. Merlin doesn’t show up at all, which doesn’t distract from the story at all and Arthur plays only a minor role.
The story’s pretty basic. Sarah’s mother and guardian (her father’s never identified) — who’s a Jew — were brutally murdered by a knight and she’s set out for revenge. On the way, she witnesses the kidnapping of Gueneviere and Kai and ends up setting off to rescue them (with help, of course). She, of course, manages to get her revenge, learn a little about killing and mercy and save the day in the end. Still, the adventure along the way is one worth joining in on.
Maybe I should let my daughter pick out my books more often.
The Book Nut 
Oooh! I wanna read it too!
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I did forget to say in my review that Morris has actually written a whole series of books based on the old Morte de Arthur romances and tales. It’s called the Squire Tales. I’ve set my daughter looking for any others they have at her school library. I’d love to read more by him.
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Have you seen the Arthurian books by Robert San Souci? They are in picture book format, with gorgeous pictures, but they are meant for older readers. My son (age 9) loves them still. Here’s one:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440412609/qid=1126876122/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/002-2622707-2712849?v=glance&s=books
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No, I haven’t seen those. Thanks for passing it along… (more books, more books, always more books!!!)
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I am in sixth grade and the first time I saw this I thought,”I don’t want to read this! It doesn’t look as exciting as other books I have read.”But then maybe I thought it is a book I would want to read, so I tried it out and couldn’t stop reading. I think Gerald Morris is a really great author. Sarah is a really cool person. I like to read stories that are about more than damsels in distress, and I found that kind of heroine in Sarah. I thought the setting was really good and it was explained very nicely.
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I read this book in 6th grade and I LOVED it then. I am now reading it (again) for an English project I’m doing (about princesses) and this is the first book that came to mind. It’s a VERY good book. Are there any other ones by him that are as good/better than this one?
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