Will in Scarlet

September 1, 2013
The origin story of one of the Merry Men is rousingly told. It's 1192. Thirteen-year-old Will Shackley, son of a lord returning from the Holy Land with King Richard I, becomes caught up in deadly political machinations when he runs afoul of the evil Sir Guy of Gisborne, loyal to the king's usurping brother, Prince John. Wounded after fleeing his ancestral home and his beloved uncle's murder, Will is grudgingly given haven in Sherwood Forest by a band of outlaws headed by a brute (no--not what you're thinking). Determined to return to his father's castle to exact revenge upon Sir Guy, now installed there, Will leads the band on a raid with treasure as its ostensible object. As the tale proceeds, Will, a deft swordsman wearing a red coat that gives him his name, finds friendship among the outlaws and begins to feel loyalty to them; he also grows in maturity as he learns that villainy isn't as easily recognizable as he once believed. Readers familiar with the Robin Hood legend will find an unusual, perhaps unsettling, interpretation of their hero: First appearing as a drunken, irresponsible lout, Rob, too, develops self-discipline and eventually hits his stride; the story of how he comes to lead the Merry Men is plausibly told. There's action, adventure and humor here, not to mention a fiercely proud female disguised as a boy. Characters are likable, and some modern turns of phrase don't interrupt the narrative's flow. A nice addition to the Robin Hood canon. (map, cast of characters) (Historical fiction. 9-12)

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October 1, 2013

Gr 6-8-In this gritty, complicated origin tale of Robin Hood, the exalted King Richard the Lionheart is kidnapped and his brother, Prince John, decides to make a play for the throne. He sends his mercenary captain, Sir Guy of Gisborne, to Shackley Manor to test the regent's political leanings, and the manor's heir, young Will Shackley, is tricked into injuring Sir Guy's servant. The castle regent, knowing this is a ploy to hold Will hostage and secure his support, refuses to let him be taken and is assassinated. Frightened for his life and filled with thoughts of revenge, Will flees to the haunted Sherwood Forest where he is captured by bandits. He adopts the name Will Scarlet and tempts their cruel leader into sending him and a small contingent back to Shackley Castle with promises of easy riches. The plot, full to the brim with political intrigue, scandal, and revenge, moves at a slow but steady pace. Where the story really shines is in the fully developed characters. Several well-known heroes and villains are described from a perspective different from the familiar archetypes. Robin Hood is a drunk running away from a broken heart; the Sheriff of Nottingham is a fair but weak-willed peacekeeper; and Will Scarlet discovers what life is truly like for his serfs and intends to do all he can for them. The politics and geography are mapped in great detail, which may become cumbersome to those not familiar with feudal government, barring casual or reluctant readers from truly digging into this action-packed and thoughtful adventure story.-Devin Burritt, Wells Public Library, ME

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2013
Grades 4-7 It's 1192, and 13-year-old Will Shackley wants to leave his mischievous boyhood behind and prove himself. His father, the lord of Shackley Manor, followed King Richard to the Crusades. Now the manor is threatened by Sir Guy, Prince John's representative. After wounding Sir Guy's manservant with a sword, Will becomes an outlaw and flees to Sherwood Forest, taking the name Will Scarlet. He joins a ragtag band of thieves and, bent on revenge, throws himself into adventures that force him to face hard truths and figure out where his path lies. Cody gradually draws Will's story into the framework of Robin Hood lore, but he lets the characters develop as individuals, with their own backstories and concerns, rather than figures playing stock roles on the stage of legend. The cartoonlike simplicity of the jacket art is at odds with the darker, more nuanced tenor of the writing. As the narrative progresses, the pace and dramatic intensity pick up. Cody offers a rewarding historical novel with the appealing possibility of more to come featuring Will and his companions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2014
Will Scarlet and Much the Miller's son join up with the outlaw Merry Men. Both have secret identities that are gradually revealed. Cody does a serviceable job slotting Will and Much in with Robin Hood, Little John, and the rest, all the while adding depth and realism to these classic characters. A cast of characters and a map are included.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2014
Will Scarlet and Much the Miller's Son are quite the unlikely pair. Their stories become intertwined when Will flees into Sherwood Forest after a botched kidnapping attempt and joins up with the outlaw Merry Men (orphaned Much has recently joined the band "because they needed someone sneaky"). Soon Will and Much are in Shackley Castle, robbing the evil lord who has seized the place. Little do Much and the rest of the motley crew know that thirteen-year-old Will is the true heir to the Shackley Lordship. But Much's own revelation is even more stunning: the Miller's "son" is actually a girl in disguise. The two join forces with John Little and Rob the Drunk (the identity of the latter will be obvious to perceptive readers early on) as they try to hide the stolen treasure, maneuver their way through Sherwood Forest without being caught by the Sheriff of Nottingham, and avoid the evil lord's attempts at vengeance. Cody does a serviceable job slotting Will and Much in with Robin Hood, Little John, and the rest, all the while adding depth and realism to these classic characters. Fans of John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series will find plenty to like here: lots of action, witty repartee, and an immediate style that will draw readers into the story. However, one of the problems with Flanagan's popular series--a tendency to overshare characters' thought processes, which hinders the pacing despite cracking action scenes--also crops up in Cody's writing from time to time. Other than the occasional slog, this should be a popular choice. A cast of characters and a map are included. sam bloom

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)