The Book of Boy: A Newbery Honor Award Winner

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Overview

A Newbery Honor Book * Booklist Editors’ Choice * BookPage Best Books * Chicago Public Library Best Fiction * Horn Book Fanfare * Kirkus Reviews Best Books * Publishers Weekly Best Books * Wall Street Journal Best of the Year * An ALA Notable Book

A young outcast is swept up into a thrilling and perilous medieval treasure hunt in this award-winning literary page-turner by acclaimed bestselling author Catherine Gilbert Murdock. The Book of Boy was awarded a Newbery Honor. “A treat from start to finish.”—Wall Street Journal

Boy has always been relegated to the outskirts of his small village. With a hump on his back, a mysterious past, and a tendency to talk to animals, he is often mocked by others in his town—until the arrival of a shadowy pilgrim named Secondus. Impressed with Boy’s climbing and jumping abilities, Secondus engages Boy as his servant, pulling him into an action-packed and suspenseful expedition across Europe to gather seven precious relics of Saint Peter.

Boy quickly realizes this journey is not an innocent one. They are stealing the relics and accumulating dangerous enemies in the process. But Boy is determined to see this pilgrimage through until the end—for what if St. Peter has the power to make him the same as the other boys?

This epic and engrossing quest story by Newbery Honor author Catherine Gilbert Murdock is for fans of Adam Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale and Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, and for readers of all ages. Features a map and black-and-white art by Ian Schoenherr throughout.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062686220
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/06/2018
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Lexile:	600L (what's this?)
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Catherine Gilbert Murdock is the acclaimed author of the Newbery Honor Book The Book of Boy, as well as six other novels. She grew up in Connecticut and now lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

The adventure [Secundus and Boy] embark on features thrilling chases, many comic observations from Boy…and more fart references than one might expect in a religious allegory. And the climactic revelation of Boy's true nature is a genuinely surprising twist.

The New York Times Book Review - Christopher Healy

03/12/2018
In a picaresque work of historical fiction set in 14th-century France, "Boy," the only name the young protagonist is given, is drafted for a transcontinental mission by Secundus, a scoundrel posing as a pilgrim. Secundus's quest is to collect seven relics associated with Saint Peter and, thereby, gain entry to heaven. Boy quickly realizes that "collect" really means "steal," and the child struggles with both the moral implications of the adventure and a desire for a miracle. Born with a physical disfigurement, Boy has lived a life of ridicule. Might Saint Peter heal the disability? In first-person narration, Boy recounts the grim realities of medieval life, leavening the telling with wonderfully funny exchanges with animals, with which Boy is able to communicate telepathically. That ability is just one of the special qualities that prompts a priest, who had mentored Boy before perishing from the Black Death, to warn the child, "never reveal yourself." Among the mostly sinister cast, Boy shines with unique, good-hearted brightness. This action-packed tale, with a luminous central character, unspools with a strong message about how appearances can deceive. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A tale of ingenuity, daring, dread, and tenderness, in which neither man nor Boy is quite what he seems, The Book of Boy is a treat from start to finish.” — Wall Street Journal

“The Book of Boy, with evocative wood-cut-style illustrations by Ian Schoenherr, is a beautiful volume. . . .an original feat of imaginative storytelling.” — Wall Street Journal

“Scuffles and sacrifices, ferocious animals, and dastardly thieves abound as Boy and Secundus are slowly revealed to readers—and each other. This is also a beautiful piece of bookmaking, from the woodblock-style design elements to the manuscript-like paper. A vivid, not-to-be-missed story.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Light and darkness have never clashed with such fierce majesty and eloquent damnation. Murdock weaves an engrossing tale. ...Blend epic adventure with gothic good and evil, and add a dash of sly wit for a tale that keeps readers turning the page.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Fresh, immediate, and earthy: the fakery, the faith, the embedded stories, the escapades. The story is beautifully served by its package...Most remarkable and unusual is the character of Boy, a complex and compelling being whose defining quality is goodness.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“This is a medieval tale that blends historical fiction with magical realism. Readers will enjoy the adventures of Boy and Secundus, rife with twists that give the story more depth than a straightforward historical novel. ... Boy is an admirable protagonist.” — School Library Journal

“Boy shines with unique, good-hearted brightness. This action-packed tale, with a luminous central character, unspools with a strong message about how appearances can deceive.” — Publishers Weekly

“Young readers intrigued by history, and those who love a good quest, should find much to keep them interested. Beautiful illustrations with the look of woodcuts grace each chapter.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Fun, enchanting. . .A perfect choice for a middle-grade reader who likes historical fiction, magical realism, mystery and a rich story centered on good vs. evil.” — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

From the Publisher

Fresh, immediate, and earthy: the fakery, the faith, the embedded stories, the escapades. The story is beautifully served by its package...Most remarkable and unusual is the character of Boy, a complex and compelling being whose defining quality is goodness.

Horn Book (starred review)

The Book of Boy, with evocative wood-cut-style illustrations by Ian Schoenherr, is a beautiful volume. . . .an original feat of imaginative storytelling.

Wall Street Journal

Scuffles and sacrifices, ferocious animals, and dastardly thieves abound as Boy and Secundus are slowly revealed to readers—and each other. This is also a beautiful piece of bookmaking, from the woodblock-style design elements to the manuscript-like paper. A vivid, not-to-be-missed story.

Booklist (starred review)

Fun, enchanting. . .A perfect choice for a middle-grade reader who likes historical fiction, magical realism, mystery and a rich story centered on good vs. evil.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Young readers intrigued by history, and those who love a good quest, should find much to keep them interested. Beautiful illustrations with the look of woodcuts grace each chapter.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

A tale of ingenuity, daring, dread, and tenderness, in which neither man nor Boy is quite what he seems, The Book of Boy is a treat from start to finish.

Wall Street Journal

Fun, enchanting. . .A perfect choice for a middle-grade reader who likes historical fiction, magical realism, mystery and a rich story centered on good vs. evil.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

11/01/2017
Gr 4–6—Boy is the village outcast. A hunchbacked orphan with a mysterious past and a knack for talking to animals, he's faced more than his share of abuse and mockery from those around him. Enter Secundus, a strange pilgrim impressed with Boy's climbing and jumping skills. Secundus pulls Boy into a journey across Europe to gather the seven relics of Saint Peter. The journey, however, is not as innocent as Boy first assumes. Instead, they're stealing relics, making enemies, and facing peril all the way to Rome. Set in the year 1350, this is a medieval tale that blends historical fiction with magical realism. Readers will enjoy the adventures of Boy and Secundus, rife with twists that give the story more depth than a straightforward historical novel. Boy is an admirable protagonist who deals with his differences with a mix of acceptance and self-consciousness. Secundus, too, is a character that has more depth to him than meets the eye. While the peril may seem light to some, younger readers will get a thrill with every narrow escape. The book is easy to read with clear prose, short chapters, and illustrations scattered throughout. VERDICT A good recommendation for readers not quite ready for Adam Gidwitz's The Inquisitor's Tale or for those who enjoyed Karen Cushman's Catherine, Called Birdy but crave a bit more magic.—Paige Garrison, The Davis Academy, Sandy Springs, GA

School Library Journal

★ 2017-10-30
Light and darkness have never clashed with such fierce majesty and eloquent damnation.Murdock weaves an engrossing tale set in medieval France, filled with charismatic characters, daring deeds, and more sinister duplicity than a certain serpent in the Garden of Eden. The titular Boy is thought a simpleton, a disfigured child who has lived a life of ridicule. Accepting of his sorry lot in life, the humble servant wants nothing more than to live in the shadows and avoid the ill-tempered attention of the likes of town bully Ox. That is, he accepts it until the arrival of the shadowy pilgrim, Secundus, enlarges Boy's world beyond the small boundaries of his village and introduces him to a world filled with greed, hunger, joy, deceit, and victory. Along with a story that unravels to reveal that not everything in the world is as it appears, Murdock delivers a wickedly fun-filled quest that twists and turns with lyrical fire. Boy ponders: "Pilgrim he might be but this man has sin stitched into his soul." The story is, among other things, an exploration of religion, Secundus' thieving quest for relics a counterpoint to Boy's stalwart faith.Blend epic adventure with gothic good and evil, and add a dash of sly wit for a tale that keeps readers turning the page, shaking their heads, and feeling the power of choice. (Historical fiction. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews