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A review by swampthingsarah
The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The middle book in a trilogy doesn't usually live up to either the first or final books in the series, but "The Kestrel" absolutely does- it's a fantastic read! My favorite aspect of it was the way the stakes were raised to truly allow for character development to occur. Theo, the protagonist, exists mainly as a sort of semi-detached observer in the first book, Westmark. He hasn't lived a life of advantage necessarily, but for most of that novel he wrestles with moral decisions without having to truly bear the consequences of them. He injures an officer in self defense and the man is not killed; he assists a con man without truly having to compromise his ethics; twice he is on the verge of having to kill a man (or let one die) to save the life of his friend or loved one, but is spared at the last moment by circumstance or intervention. So while he has to think about how complicated the "correct" moral choice can be, he isn't necessarily forced to do anything truly compromising.
That very much changes in "The Kestrel." When war breaks out in the kingdom, Theo finds himself in the middle of it, and he is deeply changed as a result. His position requires him to commit acts of violence, even of brutality, that would make him unrecognizable to his former self, who was so concerned with doing the most upright thing (often, the most simplistically upright thing) in the past. He and many of the other characters deal with the weight of incredible trauma as a result of what the experience in the war, and I thought the novel dealt with that situation very well.
I have described the Westmark series before as "Les Miserables for middle grade," and it's in this book that that starts to be true. There are numerous character deaths, including several major supporting characters, and that would be intense enough for a younger audience- but older readers will also catch veiled references to other disturbing moments, clearly there on-page but not spelled out too strongly for younger readers. Rereading these books as an adult is an emotional experience, but a great one. I'm excited to finish the series in the days ahead!
That very much changes in "The Kestrel." When war breaks out in the kingdom, Theo finds himself in the middle of it, and he is deeply changed as a result. His position requires him to commit acts of violence, even of brutality, that would make him unrecognizable to his former self, who was so concerned with doing the most upright thing (often, the most simplistically upright thing) in the past. He and many of the other characters deal with the weight of incredible trauma as a result of what the experience in the war, and I thought the novel dealt with that situation very well.
I have described the Westmark series before as "Les Miserables for middle grade," and it's in this book that that starts to be true. There are numerous character deaths, including several major supporting characters, and that would be intense enough for a younger audience- but older readers will also catch veiled references to other disturbing moments, clearly there on-page but not spelled out too strongly for younger readers. Rereading these books as an adult is an emotional experience, but a great one. I'm excited to finish the series in the days ahead!