3/5 stars
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013
253 pages
Middle-Grade Adventure Historical
Scheduled to release October 8
Source: Received an ARC through Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review.
I thought this looked cool as I love Robin Hood stories so I requested it. In the end, I found it a bit on the young side and lacking my favorite element of the Robin Hood story (to wit, the Robin/Maid Marian romance).
The beginning was so slow with thirteen-year-old Will out on the hunt for wolves with his father's men. It took me two or three tries to get through the first chapter though I knew not to expect the typical Robin Hood story. This group returns to Will's father's castle, ruled in his father's absence by his uncle as regent. Will's prowess against the wolves proves him capable of might but the arrival of Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham with orders from the usurping Prince John tests his diplomatic abilities. He ends up on the run, falling in with a band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest: cruel leader Gilbert, giant John Little, puny Much (an orphaned girl disguised as a boy), and drunkard Rob, who doesn't seem like much. On his quest for vengeance, Will accidentally inspires the group to become bandits who steal from the rich and distribute to the poor, spawning the famous Robin Hood legend.
My biggest problem was probably just wanting a more traditional Robin Hood story. I like the heroic cocky Robin who taunts Guy and the Sheriff while playing around with Little John and wooing Marin. It's not fair to expect this book to be like that but it was what was on my mind when I started. I was won over by its charms. The characters have their moments and I was especially moved by Much (I feel like a lot of Robin Hood retellings have girls disguising themselves as boys) and her struggle to prove herself tough enough to keep around.
Ultimately I deem this book slight as it did not make much of an impression on me. I dislike that Robin Hood lost prominence and I prefer a more romantic story (of course there's a bit of something between Will and Much but very little as this seems very intended for a tween audience.) It may be more enjoyable for a younger reader or a more rabid fan of the Robin Hood legend.
Definitely sounds cute for a younger crowd. Honestly, I don't even know much about the Robin Hood tale. haha
ReplyDeleteI mostly know the Disney version, which is super fun and certainly has a following though I don't know about its quality.
DeleteI like the sounds of this, and I think my son would get a kick out of it. :)
ReplyDeleteI think it will be better for younger readers-is he 8-12? I think that's the target audience.
Deletehm, sounds like something I'll skip for myself but keep in mind for younger readers. MG can go either way and I was wondering which way this one was going to fall. Thanks for the info! Sorry to hear you were disappointed though.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely seemed more MG to me than crossover but you never know. How do you feel about the Robin Hood legend? Would you like a new twist on it? I feel like I wanted the bare bones fleshed out but not changed as much as this story did.
DeleteI like Robin as the romantic, rob the rich to give the poor character myself!
ReplyDeleteThat's how I like him too-drunkard Rob is less fun!
DeleteI DNFed this one -- glad to know that I didn't miss out on too much :P
ReplyDeleteI thought about it but it's so short and I needed to review it for Amazon Vine-you didn't miss out.
DeleteI don't know if I'd like this one either. I couldn't get through Scarlet.
ReplyDeleteI like Arthurian legends and when I read Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve which put a completely different spin on it, I had a hard time with it (though the book is still good). I think there are some stories that we expect to be told in a certain way because it is what we are used to. For some reason I don't have a problem with fractured fairy tales though.
I do think Will and Much sound like interesting characters and maybe young teens or MG readers will appreciate it more.
The Reeve book sounds kind of interesting though I'm not looking for another Arthur story at the moment after striking out with Elizabeth Wein's very offbeat take.
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