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A review by karrama
The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands
5.0
Kevin Sands’ Blackthorn Key is well written. Period. I would share it in a heartbeat, and it's a quick and easy read.
Christopher was an orphan in the busy London of the mid 1600’s. Taken as an apothecary’s apprentice at eleven, he’s bonded to his master. What’s more, he’s good at learning the trade. There’s a murderer about, and he stalks apothecaries. The rest you’ll have to read.
It’s been a long time since a book’s impressed me this much. Christopher and Tom are likeable, and the sensations of London come across palpably. Kevin Sands’ solid writing, the good editing, the accurate historical setting, the puzzles without making reading difficult, all of it adds together to make a great book for the 4-7th grade readers.
The only reservation that I have about it is the inclusion of a particular cult that along with some of the history wouldn’t make sense (it’s a very specific year in England’s history) to a young reader. A second concern is the deaths that start the mystery are pretty grim, though off-screen.
~review based on an ARC
Christopher was an orphan in the busy London of the mid 1600’s. Taken as an apothecary’s apprentice at eleven, he’s bonded to his master. What’s more, he’s good at learning the trade. There’s a murderer about, and he stalks apothecaries. The rest you’ll have to read.
It’s been a long time since a book’s impressed me this much. Christopher and Tom are likeable, and the sensations of London come across palpably. Kevin Sands’ solid writing, the good editing, the accurate historical setting, the puzzles without making reading difficult, all of it adds together to make a great book for the 4-7th grade readers.
The only reservation that I have about it is the inclusion of a particular cult that along with some of the history wouldn’t make sense (it’s a very specific year in England’s history) to a young reader. A second concern is the deaths that start the mystery are pretty grim, though off-screen.
~review based on an ARC