Back to books! I finished Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi for the Newbery challenge and I really just didn't like it. Not that it was a bad book, I just couldn't connect with it and it didn't do much for me. I know there are lots of Avi fans out there, but I'm not sure if I would be one of them. I'll give him another shot though...maybe this just wasn't the right one for a first read. It's basically about a boy who lives in a very small town in the 14th century who doesn't know who his father was and who's mother has recently died and has left him a cross made of lead. The cross has writing on it which he cannot read since he can't read or write. But what's written on the cross is a clue to his true identity. He lives the life of a servant and suddenly has his life at risk as he has been declared a wolf's head (a person less than human who should be killed) after his mother's death. He doesn't know why someone wants him dead. He meets a jester by the name of Bear who helps protect him and takes him on as an apprentice and the book reads as Crispin's account of all of this. The religious aspect of the book was a bit overkill. I have no problems at all with religious themes, it was just way overdone here. I also wasn't a fan of the writing style and the story just didn't captivate me. Oh well.
This year started out so good for me with books. Now I seem to be running into a couple of duds here and there. Lets hope that I get back into a good streak again soon!
