December 2nd- The Crowfield Curse
This is part of the Christmas Book Advent Calender, where we post a new Christmas/winter book recommendation every day leading up to Christmas. More info can be found here…
December 2nd- The Crowfield Curse recommended by Liz of My Favourite Books. Write-up by Rhys.
The Crowfield Curse is a relatively unheard of novel, which I reviewed a few months ago, and it’s very wintery- even the beautiful cover doesn’t hide the wintery vibe that can be found inside the book.
It’s one of the few historical fantasies that exist for pre-teens, and it’s surprisingly good if you look beyond the recommend reading age…
The Crowfield Curse is Pat Walsh’s debut novel, and it was published early this year. The story follows 14 year old William, a boy who was accepted as a servant to Crowfield Abbey when his family burned in a house fire, from which he miraculously escapes. Out in the woods, when he is collecting firewood, he stumbles across a ‘hob’, an animal few know of and less believe exist. But the monks will have to accept something even more shocking, as the hobb brings with it the mystery of an angel that was murdered 100 years ago by the dark spirits in the woods…
It’s 1347 and fifteen-year-old Will, an orphan boy, lives at Crowfield Abbey. Sent into the forest to gather wood, he rescues instead, a creature from a trap – a hob, who shares with Will a terrible secret. Somewhere in the forest behind the abbey where he lives,is a grave. And buried deep in the snow is an angel. But how can an angel die? What has it to do with the monks of the Abbey? When two hooded strangers arrive at Crowfield asking questions about the angel’s grave. Will is drawn into a world of dangerous Old Magic. The Crowfield Feather was short-listed for the Times Chidren’s Fiction Competition in 2008. This is a stunning debut novel and the first of a two part series.
