Set in 1347, the story follows monks' apprentice, William, as he finds himself caught up in a battle between light and dark forces that seem to surround the abbey where he lives. After discovering a creature called a hob tangled in a trap, Will's eyes are opened to the magical creatures around him. There are many 'fay' creatures, old pagan gods, ghosts and healers and a secret buried deep in the woods.
William is a peculiar character. He is kind, fair and tender-hearted, able to move past conventional beliefs in order to see the bigger picture. Although frightened a great deal of the time, he continually strives to do what he believes is best for others. Which, in my opinion, all adds up to a tenacious hero.
The mystery that Will is drawn into is genuinely intriguing. It's so hard to tell how the story is going to turn out. Even when you are 100% positive you think you know what's going to happen it goes all twisted and the author (Pat Walsh) adds a new development. I would love to see The Crowfield Curse as a movie so I could see how the characters are brought to life.
Another really great thing is that the author doesn't skimp on historical detail. Even if it is a book mostly targeted for children aged 9-13, this is a very detailed look at medieval life and it really shows how difficult life was then. I was also interested to see how matter of fact the hardships were. It's difficult to imagine anyone today being so philosophical about hard work, hunger or cold. You can always come up with theories for this book.
As mentioned in the paragraph before, I recommend this book to children aged 9-13 years, especially those interested in that time period or in magical creatures. This does not have the charm of the Harry Potter series, but it's a wonderful book nonetheless.
Overall, The Crowfield Curse is a fantastic, spellbinding novel, the greatest piece of literature I've ever read and I can't wait to read the sequel, The Crowfield Demon.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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