1212: Year of the Journey

by Kathleen McDonnell

Overview

In a world where thousands are dying over matters of religion, where do you go? What do you believe? Who do you put your own faith in? These questions, so relevent to growing up in 2006, are also questions faced by young people hundreds of years ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781897187111
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	11/30/2006
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.73(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Kathleen McDonnell is an award-winning author and playwright of adult and children’s literature, including The Notherland Journeys series – The Nordlings, The Shining World, and The Songweavers – and Honey, We Lost the Kids. Born in Chicago, Kathleen lives in Toronto with her family.

Editorial Reviews

An imaginatively powerful recreation of this unforgettable historical moment.

Quill & Quire

McDonnell did an excellent job of blending fact and fiction to create a gripping tale.

Sarah's Stars

A fascinating and challenging piece of historical fiction.

Resource Links

McDonnell brings the period alive, and her three characters provide engaging access points into the complicated story.

Booklist

"You can identify with the characters."

WASHYARG

"Kathleen McDonnell vividly brings the 13th-century world of these child crusaders to life, but 1212 is also a novel that feels very contemporary in its exploration of the themes of religious tolerance, empire building, and war and peace. "

Quill & Quire - Jeffrey Canton

Gr 7–9
Violence perpetrated by the Church of Rome in the name of God in the early 13th century forms the background for this story. Etienne, a poor boy from Cloyes, France, reacts to a vision in which St. Nicholas instructs him to lead a crusade of children to Jerusalem. He is joined by Abel, a Jewish boy who has been studying in Paris, and Blanche, a member of the Good Christians, those who do not do the bidding of the Church of Rome, as well as thousands of other children. The plot has convenient twists and some gaps. It is hard to understand, for example, how Abel is able to keep his Judaism hidden from the others, as he continues to observe Shabbat. Though the three main characters experience realistic periods of self-doubt, they are awkwardly drawn and the dialogue often sounds like a religious tract. Also, the author's attempt to show an underlying commonality of belief among the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and the Muslim faith is heavy-handed and almost forced on the story, and Etienne's leadership and ability to inspire the others who join the crusade is not convincing. This offering is disappointing.
—Renee SteinbergCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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