It's the story of Tobias who, at the ripe old age of 14, thinks that he's already a man and wishes that his family would treat him like one. He works hard on the family farm and to earn enough money to pay off their debt and frets about still being considered a child. Then war comes to his kingdom and Tobias is recruited to fight and realizes that maybe he's not so grown up after all.
Tobias deals with long marches, hard training, bullies, and trying (somewhat unsuccessfully) to tame his tongue and keep out of trouble. The book has all the necessary adventures and experiences that one would expect in an adventure book and was fun to read (with a couple tense moments to add to the enjoyment). By the end of the book Tobias is still impulsive and often speaks without thinking, but he is learning to get along with and understand his (now former) rival, Hadrian; he sometimes shows bits of maturity; and he is maybe on his way to actually being the man he thought he was.
I definitely recommend the book for anyone who wants to read about adventure. It would also make a great read-aloud for families. There might be a couple places that are too intense for younger listeners, but there is no description of blood or gore, so they may be okay (it probably depends on the children).
I am eagerly looking forward to the sequel!
No comments:
Post a Comment