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“The Orphan King” Delivers Strong YA Fantasy

by Beth Strand

October 10, 2012

I have to admit that I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into with Sigmund Brouwer’s “The Orphan King.” The description of a young man raised behind monastery walls with a mysterious past and an imminent destiny sounds like it could be a bit hackneyed. However, Sigmund Brouwer’s tale is fresh, fun and full of interesting and well-written characters. He takes us back to AD 1312 in Northern England and creates a rich world of knights, druids, spies, good versus evil and intrigue. The plot thickens, twists, then thickens again and just about when you think you know what is what…there is a hint at another twist which will leave you waiting for the sequel. This is classified as a YA novel and, depending on the level of your reader, I would recommend it for strong readers from about 5th grade and up. There is some violence but it’s not graphic or out of place for the plot. There are also child abuse issues raised but they are more alluded to then graphic. There is one scene of bullying where a character rushes to defend the underdog that sets a good example for anti-bullying. I would recommend this book for fantasy readers of any age even though it’s classified as YA fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have marked my calendar for the sequel coming in February! This book as provided to me for this review through WaterBrook Press as part of the “Blogging for Books” program. They provide the books but the opinions are solely my own!