Still grieving for the fatherly protector they called Bear, Crispin and his friend Troth wander northward through the fourteenth-century French countryside in rags, begging for food and hoping to arrive in Iceland. They arrive at a convent where the nuns value Troth's skill with healing herbs, and she decides to stay. Alone and near starvation, Crispin joins a troupe of traveling musicians who prove to be a band of murderous thieves. Discovering their plot against him strengthens Crispin's determination to escape, to free their servant boy, and to make his way to Iceland. Crispin's physical and emotional suffering, magnified by the story's almost unremitting tension, make this one of the less-romanticized medieval novels written for young people. Though the publisher states that the trilogy beginning with the Newbery-winning Crispin: The Cross of Lead (2002) ends here, the conclusion, which holds the promise of more adventures for Crispin, may not satisfy fans. Still, with necessary elements from the previous books related quickly, even readers new to the series will find this a compelling, first-person narrative.

Picking up where Crispin: The Cross of Lead left off, this tale, which reeks with fourteenth-century detail, finds Crispin and the minstrel Bear making their way across the English countryside, one step ahead of Bear's former confederates, who are certain he has sold them out. The somber ending leaves Crispin with the determination to live free. An author's note provides historical context.

Avi guides his hero toward a final, very satisfying destiny in this wonderfully realized conclusion to the Crispin trilogy. With Bear, their mentor and protector, dead, Crispin and the disfigured girl Troth wearily wander the French countryside. Finding refuge at a convent, the two ultimately make the wrenching decision to part when Troth decides to stay with the Sisters, comforted that she'll never again be shunned for her appearance and having accepted her own destiny as a healer. Bereft of his only friend, Crispin eventually falls in with a band of traveling musicians, who, he finds out in increasingly suspenseful scenes, are murderous thieves who hold a terrified boy in thrall. The story of how he and the child, Owen, escape their clutches makes for a heart-stopping read. As in the other titles in the saga, characters and setting are expertly rendered. The ending is almost unbearably intense and leads to a deeply moving final scene in which Crispin learns that Bear will always be with him. Thrilling and beautifully wrought. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Gr 5-8 This final installment in the trilogy picks up just where the previous book ended. Hungry, despondent, and afraid, Crispin and Troth wander aimlessly in the French countryside. Crispin is determined that they'll make their way to Iceland because Bear promised that it was a land of freedom and plenty. The trouble is, they have no idea where it is, and no one they encounter has ever heard of it. When they feel as if they can't go on, they come to a small village where the sisters of a convent take them in. Troth's skill as a healer is useful to the nuns, and she is offered a permanent place there. Crispin continues on alone. He encounters traveling musicians who are making their way to Calais, and, in exchange for food and a sense of protection, he agrees to play in their band and travel with them. He soon realizes that he has placed himself in the hands of brigands. His only hope is to escape once they reach Calais and find a ship bound for Iceland. The action is nonstop and danger is around every corner. The first-person voice lends a sense of urgency to the novel, and Avi's writing style is as elegant and engaging as ever. This book, however, seems a little less substantive than the others, and after Troth is dispensed with in the first 40 pages, Crispin never develops another relationship like he had with her and Bear. The story is a little disappointing from that standpoint, but it is a page-turner nonetheless. Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI