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protoman21's review against another edition
3.0
I hate to give this 3 stars since I didn't really have any issues with the story, but I wasn't able to get into it at all and ultimately I know that I will not remember this book at all in a few years. I think the main issue here is that not much happens. That can be ok if the story or characters are super compelling, but Robin comes across as a very typical boy and although I appreciate the life lesson taught here about self worth and perseverance, I feel like this lesson, though universal, was designed for kids of a different time. I can see reading this out loud as a bedtime story.
dotreadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this story about a young boy coming of age during the Medieval times. He shows great courage against great odds. His search for acceptance and love is gently encouraged by men and woman of honor.
livingforjesus08's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book when I was younger and did not enjoy it at all because it seemed really confusing to me. But i decided to give it another shot and I'm so glad I did. I loved it. The reason it's only four stars is because I prefer long books or series and this one was pretty short. But it's a really good children's story that i recommend. Just don't take the 'door in the wall' part literally like i did the first time.
librarygirlreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
foraging_pages's review against another edition
4.0
I found this handy dandy little book just sitting in a a box a few weeks ago. The title intrigued me so I moved it onto my bookshelf. When I opened the cover, I found my mother’s name scribbled out and mine in place of it. The title page illustrations caught my eye. And then I kept seeing it everywhere online. That was my sign to just read it. So I started it and guess what I discovered…it’s another plague narrative!
elizabeth159's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
whatsthestorywishbone's review against another edition
4.0
A Newbery Award Bingo read. Lots of old English language made this one difficult to read aloud but the heart of the story was there, kid dealing with disability, facing fears and frustrations. I was concerned that the author would have his unknown ailment just disappear one day but it didn’t and that made the story so much better. I was also worried it would be over Reid’s head but he stayed engaged especially during the action packed chapters at the end.
createabeast's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this, while also reading the ‘Ill-made Knight’ segment of ‘The Once and Future King’ presented many parallels. In both, we have a character that is broken. And in both, that broken-ness is fundamental to their actions. Robin and Lance both share a common thread and are almost inversions of each other in some ways.
To feel broken, in body, mind, or spirit. To spend your life seeking some recourse. To always want to do the thing which is hard but right, even more so because it is painful. A heart that feels so broken that you cannot understand how it still functions, beat by beat. A heart that seems like it has always felt so, except for small moments that pass unnoticed by people without such issues.
To gain uncommon competence in all things. To seek usefulness. To be useful. And have the intent to pour all of yourself into whatever you are doing and being.
Robin - the boy in this book who has lost the use of his legs and must learn to adapt accordingly - seems like a typical child that was decently raised – good at heart, kind. He starts off being a bit petulant - but having recently lost the use of his legs, and being unintentionally abandoned, I think that is reasonable. What matters is that his initial selfishness rapidly gives way to valiant efforts and none of it felt unrealistic to me. It all rang true.
Robin’s drives and aims are simple – befitting an 11-year-old. He spends much of the book adapting to his newfound obstacles. And most of that adaptation involves learning new skills. For a child, this is part of growing up, but in this context, it is also giving Robin other futures to replace the future he lost (to go from squire, to knight, etc.).
He is nurtured constantly. Almost every adult in his life is helpful and supportive. Nearly all the people he encounters are decent and unselfish people. Aside from a few bandits. But again, this rang true to me, and I believe it serves a purpose. If I was handing this book to a child with Robin’s obstacles, or even less severe obstacles of a more common sort, I think this would be a good thing. There is time to learn about the dangers of humans, and in my experience those lessons are taught well enough outside of fiction.
In contrast, Lancelot Dulac’s spirit is crooked, even if it is only Dulac himself who believes this to be so. And White says plainly that Lance works all the harder at being good and true because he knows and believes he is so flawed – he is kind because in his heart he knows he can be cruel.
And Lance is nurtured in his youth – but not for his own sake or good. As a boy he is set on a virtuous path by his king, but he spends his life being used and manipulated. Torn apart by conflicting drives and people. But that is a more complicated story, and I am not done with it yet.
That my thoughts on these two stories would blend is unavoidable, because I’m reading them concurrently, and because of how I think (everything is connected to everything else). I don’t get the sense that these books influenced each other too much. But maybe. There is a convergence of circumstances within the characterization and plot.
One other note: Robin has a few moments where he tells himself not to cry, so as to not appear “unmanly” or be ashamed. While this might be accurate for the period – I am doubtful and uncertain. First, I believe fear of shedding tears is the opposite of strength and the idea that it would be seen as weakness does not follow as a matter of course.
More importantly, I know that in many cultures of the past, weeping openly was normal and expected. A lot of hangups around this seem rooted in the more recent past (Victorian or later), and perhaps de Angeli just wanted Robin to be more relatable to the boys of the 1940’s. I don’t know. It is a curious thing though.
***
I bought this a few years ago for my niece, not having read it beforehand. I was hoping to give her ‘Adam of the Road’, because I had read that book when I was around her age, and it was meaningful to me. I was unable to acquire it in time, and this seemed the next best option.
Now, having read them both, I think it is a different but better book in many ways. Perhaps because the sense of broken-ness seems particularly apt to me. And perhaps because even though I do not feel like Robin today, I vividly remember feeling like him as a child. I remember learning and doing things because I believed those things would give me value. And in being useful and capable, I believed I could be loved.
That isn’t how it works, of course.
It is better to have crooked legs than a crooked spirit.
To feel broken, in body, mind, or spirit. To spend your life seeking some recourse. To always want to do the thing which is hard but right, even more so because it is painful. A heart that feels so broken that you cannot understand how it still functions, beat by beat. A heart that seems like it has always felt so, except for small moments that pass unnoticed by people without such issues.
To gain uncommon competence in all things. To seek usefulness. To be useful. And have the intent to pour all of yourself into whatever you are doing and being.
Robin - the boy in this book who has lost the use of his legs and must learn to adapt accordingly - seems like a typical child that was decently raised – good at heart, kind. He starts off being a bit petulant - but having recently lost the use of his legs, and being unintentionally abandoned, I think that is reasonable. What matters is that his initial selfishness rapidly gives way to valiant efforts and none of it felt unrealistic to me. It all rang true.
Robin’s drives and aims are simple – befitting an 11-year-old. He spends much of the book adapting to his newfound obstacles. And most of that adaptation involves learning new skills. For a child, this is part of growing up, but in this context, it is also giving Robin other futures to replace the future he lost (to go from squire, to knight, etc.).
He is nurtured constantly. Almost every adult in his life is helpful and supportive. Nearly all the people he encounters are decent and unselfish people. Aside from a few bandits. But again, this rang true to me, and I believe it serves a purpose. If I was handing this book to a child with Robin’s obstacles, or even less severe obstacles of a more common sort, I think this would be a good thing. There is time to learn about the dangers of humans, and in my experience those lessons are taught well enough outside of fiction.
In contrast, Lancelot Dulac’s spirit is crooked, even if it is only Dulac himself who believes this to be so. And White says plainly that Lance works all the harder at being good and true because he knows and believes he is so flawed – he is kind because in his heart he knows he can be cruel.
And Lance is nurtured in his youth – but not for his own sake or good. As a boy he is set on a virtuous path by his king, but he spends his life being used and manipulated. Torn apart by conflicting drives and people. But that is a more complicated story, and I am not done with it yet.
That my thoughts on these two stories would blend is unavoidable, because I’m reading them concurrently, and because of how I think (everything is connected to everything else). I don’t get the sense that these books influenced each other too much. But maybe. There is a convergence of circumstances within the characterization and plot.
One other note: Robin has a few moments where he tells himself not to cry, so as to not appear “unmanly” or be ashamed. While this might be accurate for the period – I am doubtful and uncertain. First, I believe fear of shedding tears is the opposite of strength and the idea that it would be seen as weakness does not follow as a matter of course.
More importantly, I know that in many cultures of the past, weeping openly was normal and expected. A lot of hangups around this seem rooted in the more recent past (Victorian or later), and perhaps de Angeli just wanted Robin to be more relatable to the boys of the 1940’s. I don’t know. It is a curious thing though.
***
I bought this a few years ago for my niece, not having read it beforehand. I was hoping to give her ‘Adam of the Road’, because I had read that book when I was around her age, and it was meaningful to me. I was unable to acquire it in time, and this seemed the next best option.
Now, having read them both, I think it is a different but better book in many ways. Perhaps because the sense of broken-ness seems particularly apt to me. And perhaps because even though I do not feel like Robin today, I vividly remember feeling like him as a child. I remember learning and doing things because I believed those things would give me value. And in being useful and capable, I believed I could be loved.
That isn’t how it works, of course.
bookslovejenna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0