PRAISE FOR THE CROWFIELD CURSE
*"A wondrous mystery. Walsh described the environment with calm sensory detail, giving readers a palpably damp, frigid winter. Understatedly tender and mystical yet solid." -- Kirkus, starred review
*"Suspenseful and spooky. With fascinating attention to detail and an edgy battle between evil and good, Walsh sweeps readers almost effortlessly into another time and place. By the close of the novel, readers are hoping for more, and the ending suggests that more is to come. " -- School Library Journal, starred review
"Walsh writes with a sure and steady hand, deftly blending the historical details of medieval monastery life with the magical elements of the mythical supernatural creatures. The hob, with his unintentional wit and well-timed comic relief, is the true standout of the cast. The growing tension will compel young readers toward the climactic battle in the woods and its terrifying conclusion." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Dotted with evil curses, dead angels, and dark places. Walsh expertly mixes the fantastical with the humdrum necessities of medieval life." -- Booklist
*Includes a timetable of daily life in the abbey and a glossary of monastic terms
*Plus a sneak peek at the sequel THE CROWFIELD DEMON!
A 2011 USBBY Outstanding International Book
New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"
Kirkus "Best Book of the Year"
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*THE CROWFIELD CURSE
Author: Walsh, Pat
In 1347 at a country monastery, a wondrous mystery unfolds. Collecting firewood in a frozen forest, William finds an unfamiliar cat-sized creature wounded in an animal trap. It moans but also talks, so despite his neck hairs hackling at this incomprehensible being, William brings the hob home to the single sympathetic monk at Crowfield Abbey. As a servant, William's treated badly there, but he makes do, and Brother Snail is kind. The dignified but privately vulnerable hob is only the first new thing in William's world. A wealthy leper, a cold fay warrior and rumors of a dead angel pull William into grave danger–danger he witnesses in a bloody slaughter of woodland animals. Some evil is overt while some is difficult to identify, but William has a careful mind and a gentle core that serve him well. Walsh describes the environment with calm sensory detail, giving readers a palpably damp, frigid winter. Understatedly tender and mystical yet solid; it ends in temporary peace, with sequel potential. (daily abbey schedule, glossary) (Historical fantasy. 9-12) -- Kirkus, starred review
School Library Journal – September 2010
*WALSH, Pat. The Crowfield Curse. 336p. glossary. Scholastic/Chicken House. Sept. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-545-22922-7. LC number unavailable.
Gr 5-8–Set in England in the winter of 1347, this suspenseful and spooky story will thrill readers who loved Joseph Delaney's “The Last Apprentice” series (HarperCollins). Fourteen-year-old William, whose family perished in a fire 18 months earlier, works as a servant at the local monastery in exchange for his room and board, meager as it is. While gathering firewood, he discovers a creature caught in a trap and saves its life. The hobgoblin tells him that he can only be seen by those with the Sight, a gift the boy did not know he possessed. As the hob recovers from his wounds, Will encounters a mystery that shakes him to his core. There is an angel secretly buried in the nearby woodlands, and a visitor to the abbey, a leper, is determined to find it. For reasons unclear to the boy, Mr. Bone insists that Will help accomplish this goal. With fascinating attention to detail an
It's late winter, 1348, and although William brought peace three months ago by freeing an angel from a deathlike limbo (The Crowfield Curse, 2010), mystery and danger stir again. Will's provisions at Crowfield Abbey are meager and physical comforts nonexistent, but he works hard and takes solace in companionship with three friends: Brother Snail, a frail, elderly monk; Shadlok, a glowering fay bonded to William though a curse; and a small, tender, talking animal known as a hob, called Brother Walter because his real name mustn't be known. Something's terribly wrong on the Abbey grounds. Walls are cracking, and the church tower crashes to the ground, throwing stone everywhere. While helping a stonemason clear a side chapel, Will uncovers a buried wooden bowl. Symbols and Latin reveal that the bowl ensnares a demon. Raum was once an angel but fell from grace; now he's escaping the bowl, bent on vengeance against the Abbey and hunting Will's pure soul. Alchemy to rebind Raum to the bowl fails, and he's free, placing Will in the monks' nightmares so they turn on him, burning nearby cottages, wreaking deadly havoc. Walsh's sensory setting is cold and rainy. Will's character is likably sturdy; he's a hero, but a quiet one. This appealingly atmospheric historical fantasy melds Christianity and magic with conviction; eager readers will hope for another sequel. (Historical fantasy. 9-12)
