League of Archers
I originally began reading this book since I made the new years resolution to read more middle grade fiction. I noticed that most of the books I've read in the middle grade genre are made up of either Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, so this needed to change. However, it is clear to me that this book will not be on the same level as those books, and I doubt I will come to remember this story in a few months time.
This book tells the story of novice nun Ellie Dry, a girl who idolizes Robin Hood and his Merry Men. One day while out hunting, she comes across the very man himself, and helps him to the abbess when he is shot in her presence with a poisoned arrow. He dies from his wound, and Ellie is blamed for the murder by the local barron. Now her and her friends, who call themselves The League of Archers, must fight to clear Ellie's name and find the real killer, before the towns people hang her for it.
This is a story that middle schoolers may like as it contains a lot of action and it moves at a fast pace. I also like the theme of knowing the man versus the legend, and seeing how someone you admire can fall from grace so easily. This is something that a middle school student can learn and find interesting.
Yet, sadly this is the kind of book that, as an adult, I find simply lacking the rest of the time. We spend a lot of time with the League of Archers, but they all blend together. Ellie herself is a bit of a blank slate. I do not remember many of the characters in this book because they are all used for one purpose or another, and little else. Then, the idea of Robin Hood being more of a fallible man than a hero is an idea that is introduced and then dropped until the very end of the book, when it comes back up again. It just seems like it is something that, like everything else is used as a plot device, as opposed to anything substantial.
It is for these reasons that I am giving this book a two out of five. It may be nice for middle school readers, but for me, it was just lacking in so many areas.