Will Sparrow’s Road
Author: Karen Cushman
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: Nov. 6, 2012
Pages: 224
Source: audiobook for review from Listening Library
Read By: Katherine Kellgren
Audiobook Publisher: Listening Library
Length: 5 hours
About the Book: In his thirteenth year, Will Sparrow, liar and thief, becomes a runaway. On the road, he encounters a series of con artists—a pickpocket, a tooth puller, a pig trainer, a conjurer—and learns that others are more adept than he at lying and thieving. Then he reluctantly joins a traveling troupe of “oddities,” including a dwarf and a cat-faced girl, holding himself apart from the “monsters” and resolving to be on guard against further deceptions. At last Will is forced to understand that appearances are misleading and that he has been his own worst deceiver. The rowdy world of market fairs in Elizabethan England is the colorful backdrop for Newbery medalist Cushman’s new comic masterpiece.
My Thoughts: When I got an email about reviewing Will Sparrow’s Road by Karen Cushman I jumped at the chance. I’ve read and enjoyed Catherine, Called Birdy and The Midwife’s Apprentice by the same author. The narrator, Katherine Kellgren, has won numerous awards and accolades. As an added bonus? It’s only five hours long!
I have to say, of the three Karen Cushman books I’ve read this one was my least favorite. That isn’t to say it’s bad. I enjoyed the telling of Will’s story. I just had a bit of a hard time getting in to it. This is the first book Cushman has written with a male protaginist. I’m not sure if that’s why I didn’t connect with him right away or if it was just the events of the story. Either way, it picked up for me when Will met up with a booth of “oddities and prodigies” at a market fair. I really enjoyed the market fair as a setting and Cushman creates some unforgettable characters. (I really loved The Duchess!)
Katherine Kellgren did an amazing job as a narrator. She had all these different voices for the characters and I loved listening to her! She kept me listening even when I wasn’t quite connecting to the story. I’ll definitely be checking out more audiobooks she narrates!
If you’re a fan of middle grade historical fiction, or Karen Cushman in particular, Will Sparrow’s Road might be a hit for you!
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