Get lost in a sweeping middle-grade adventure following Rype, an abandoned girl in fourteenth-century Europe, as she walks from Norway to England looking for safety from the plague.
Her name was Rype. That wasn’t really her name. It was what the strangers called her. She didn’t remember her real name. She didn’t remember anything at all.
Rype was hiding in the hollow of a tree trunk when they found her. She was hungry, small, cold, alone. She did not speak their language, or understand their mannerisms. But she knew this: To survive, she would have to go with them.
In fourteenth-century Norway, the plague has destroyed the entire village of Skeviga. To stay alive, Rype, the only one left, must embark on a sweeping adventure across Europe with the son of an English ship captain and a band of troubadours in search of a brighter future and a new home.
Expertly crafted, beautifully written, and completely unique, Diane Zahler has created a historically rich, stunning story of survival and hope in the face of tragedy
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School Library Journal
Gr 6-8-Zahler's novel offers a glimpse into the bubonic plague, the pandemic that rocked Europe in the 14th century. Owen rescues 12-year-old Rype who was hiding in a hollow tree trunk and realizes she must have been a survivor from a Norwegian village decimated by "the sickness," as it is referred to in the book. Rype begins a new life and adventure with Owen, starting on the North Sea, carrying them through part of the Holy Roman Empire and to the Kingdom of France. The two join a merry band of troubadours traveling around singing for room and board who also provide companionship and protection. Rype knows she has no family to return to in Norway and seems happy to follow Owen home to England to rejoin his mother and sister. Along the way the group encounters perilous situations readers might find shocking but were, in fact, normal facets of living during the Middle Ages. Each chapter begins with a flashback to Rype's life with her family in her Norwegian village running parallel to the narrative. Zahler's research is obvious with her diction; there are words and phrases readers will need to use context clues to decipher. Rype and Owen's affection for each other is an underlying current and could provide enough tension to keep a reluctant reader invested. Furthermore, personal connections with recent COVID-19 experiences might allow for interesting discussion in a group setting. VERDICT A great addition to any middle grade historical fiction collection.-Kim Gardner?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.