9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Angels in the Snow, September 4, 2010
The Crowfield Curse has already gotten attention from awards committees, and I can see why. It's the best depiction of a child's life in medieval Europe since Karen Cushman's books, as well as a powerful blending of historical fiction and fantasy.
The year is 1347, and 14-year-old William Paynel has lived at a poor abbey since his parents died, working odd jobs in return for scant room and board. What he doesn't know is that the abbey is keeping secrets--at least, not until Will ends up with a secret of his own. Will comes across a creature caught in a trap in the forest and frees it, then brings it to Brother Snail to heal. Only this isn't a fox or a squirrel; it's a hob, a creature of the fay. The hob, whom Brother Snail and Will call Brother Walter with gentle humor (since the fay cannot give their names), begins to trust his two rescuers and adapt to life at the abbey. Fortunately, none of the abbey's other inhabitants know he's there.
Walsh peoples her book with colorful and eerie characters, including an angry ex-soldier named Brother Martin who runs the kitchen and a canny woman from the village, Dame Alys, who goes about with a white crow on her shoulder. There is also a forbidding, haunted spot in the forest, Whistling Hollow.
As it turns out, the hob is only the first strange visitor to come to the abbey. Soon after his arrival, Master Bone and his odd servant arrive, paying handsomely for the privilege of rooms at the abbey. It seems there is something buried nearby, and the two have come looking for it.
The mystery deepens, with Will learning more than he ever thought he would about beings of darkness and light, about music and harm and healing of many kinds. In time, he discovers that his future is linked to the fay and their ways, whether he likes it or not.
In broad strokes, this plot may sound more like typical fantasy than it is. Once you read The Crowfield Curse, you find that Walsh has a way of building a mystery with a near-gothic feeling of suspense, never forgetting the power of her setting and the ways of medieval England. Her fay are more real and more grim than those you may have encountered in half a dozen YA paranormals recently, and her young hero and the other monks are gritty with the poverty and superstitions of their time.
As the book comes to a close, the buried secret takes on an entirely new meaning, as does the presence of Master Bone and his servant at the abbey. We also learn that Will's story is just beginning. So we can look forward to reading another book about William Paynel and his dealings with the fay.
Although I have to add, the snowy setting was so powerful that if the next book takes place in high summer, it will be a shock to the system!
Note for Worried Parents: There's talk about the grim realities of life in the Middle Ages here, along with some scary fay creatures. But The Crowfield Curse is appropriate for most readers in the 9-to-12 crowd.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun read, January 21, 2010
This review is from: Crowfield Curse (Paperback)
As I expected from the description, this turned out to be an interesting read. The placement of a fairy myth lore into a Christian context creates something different than the typical fairy fantasy. Also, understand that when I say fairy myth lore, I'm not necessarily referring to fairies specifically in the sense of little creatures with wings, but the fairy court, fay warriors and such.
In some ways it actually reminds me a lot of Tithe by Holly Black, but in my opinion is actually better because it's a lot less confusing and I'm not forced to employ so much willing suspension of disbelief in regards to character interaction. However, the main differences are the time periods and the target age group, plus Tithe is really a love story at it's core, whereas The Crowfield Curse is more of an adventure/mystery. Ultimately, it's a quick fun read, the ideas are somewhat original, and there's a nice little glossary of terms in the back to help grasp some of the jargon words related to the life in the Abbey to give a little education.
-Lindsey Miller, [...]
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic in the Middle Ages, December 29, 2011
I am constantly on the hunt for books that will fill the void left by the completion of the Harry Potter series and am so glad to have stumbled upon The Crowfield Curse.
The old adage 'write what you know' seems to have worked wonderfully for Pat Walsh as she is able to share her extensive knowledge of the Middle Ages with her readers, from the architecture of the Abbey to the revolting vegetable pottage constantly cooked by Brother Martin. At the same time Walsh has created a world in which angels and the fay both belong, whereas in the majority of stories the existence of one cancels out the possibility of the other.
William Paynel is an instantly likeable and engaging protagonist, and by the end of the fifth chapter I found myself desperately wanting to find out what was in store for him. Since finishing both The Crowfield Curse and The Crowfield Demon I have placed him on the same pedestal I had previously reserved only for Thomas Ward from Joseph Delaney's Wardstone Chronicles.
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