I have never met anyone else who has heard of this book, but it has been one of my favorites since childhood. I first read the library copy, and when I determined to get my own, I had to special-order it from the bookstore because none of the Barnes and Nobles in the area carried it. (Gosh, remember the days before Amazon.com was ubiquitous?)It has all of the hallmarks of ZKS's YA books -- relatable and believable young characters, a fast-paced plot with subtle foreshadowing leading to a last-act twist which suddenly raises the stakes much higher than you expected, and ambiguously magical or supernatural elements. Even more, though, it is a subtle deconstruction of medieval romances, showing that the nobility are often far from noble, and that plucky young lads setting off to seek their fortunes had better be quick-witted and have some kind of marketable skill unless they want to be shooed away as beggars. (An enormous, fierce-looking dog doesn't hurt.) Tymmon's decision at the end regarding his future shows that he has gained wisdom in a way that many protagonists of similarly-plotted stories do not, that the glamorous role is not necessarily the best, and that a court jester may be a wise adviser. Even better, the narrative is clear that the adults of the world are very much aware of these truths that Tymmon is just discovering.
My daughter is reading this for school, so thought I'd follow along (as usual) so we can talk about it!The language and writing style in this book reflected the medieval time period, which made it a little difficult for my 6th grader: she's not a huge reader, though. I found the language and vernacular quite enjoyable, however, and with a little help and goading, the kid made it through.I enjoyed the story quite a bit. The main character was believable, had some complexity, and was positive. There was just enough foreshadowing, without too much. For a kid's book, it was a good little page turner!
