Newbery Book # 2 - Crispin: The Cross of Lead

Avi. (2002). Crispin: The cross of lead. New York: Hyperion.


"In his fiftieth book, Avi sets his story in fourteenth-century England and introduces some of his most unforgettable characters--a 13-year-old orphan, seemingly without a name, and a huge, odd juggler named Bear. At first, the boy is known as Asta’s Son, but when his mother dies, he learns from a priest that his name is really Crispin. He also quickly comes to realize that he is in grave trouble. John Acliffe, the steward of the manor, reveals himself to be Crispin’s mortal enemy and declares the boy a “wolf’s-head,” which means he is anyone’s prey. Clutching his only possession, a lead cross, Crispin flees his village into a vast new world of opportunity--and terror. At his lowest ebb, Crispin meets Bear and reluctantly swears an oath to be his servant. Yet Bear becomes much more than a master--he’s Crispin’s teacher, protector, and liberator. Avi builds an impressive backdrop for his arresting characters: a tense medieval world in which hostility against the landowners and their cruelties is increasing. There’s also other nail-biting tension in the story that builds to a gripping, somewhat confusing ending, which finds Crispin, once weak, now strong. Readers may not understand every nuance of the political machinations that propel the story, but they will feel the shifting winds of change beginning to blow through a feudal society." — Ilene Cooper

source: http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=1759382

I thought this book was very sad and depressing. I liked the suspense and the tension in the rising action of the plot, but I hated the depth of social issues and I thought it was too heavy. I would only recommend this books to students who are mature and do not have any issues of abandonment lest it be disturbing for them.