Grade 5-7 Set in tumultous 14th-Century England, this is the story of a blood feud between the Butler and Castell families. As a method of bringing an end to their dissension, the families agree to an exchange of children at birth to ensure peace between them. From this unlikely premise, Phillips has crafted the fast-moving adventures of ten-year-old Alys, who discovers that she is the ``Peace Child,'' exchanged by her noble city-dwelling family at birth with the child of their landed gentry rivals. Upon absorbing this astounding news, Alys sets off to London to find her real parents and siblings, encountering a varied cast of thieves, beggars, pilgrims, and minstrels on the way. Alys makes several trips between the families during the course of the story and must deal with crises such as the Great Plague and the Peasants' Revolt. If all this seems more than a little absurd for a ten-year-old to survive and even thrive, Phillips has somehow made it all fall into place quite naturally. Readers with little or no background in medieval history and customs may encounter some difficulties here, but the lively pace and plucky heroine will carry the day for most. David N. Pauli, Northern Waters Library Service, Ashland, Wis.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
"A drawn sword lay on the table, with its point towards Alys. She looked at it and shivered, not only with cold. There were ten of the family around the table in the high, dark room. Their emotions seemed to Alys to vibrate in the air just as the light from the many candles shimmered and shook. There seemed to be anger there, and grief."
Set in the fourteenth century, amidst the Peasants' Revolt and the Great Plague, this is the story of a spirited young girl torn between two hostile families. She is Alys, the Peace Child.
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