Catherine Gilbert Murdock

I originally read this book in August 13, 2012 and completly forgot about it until I began reading it again a few days ago.

It has a lot of elements that are enjoyable and has that pull that only good books have. I was hooked once again, but its major flaw comes in the ending. It feels rushed and a little forced. I wish the author had spent a little more time fleshing it out in order to make it more believable.

Further explanation includes spoilers....

Prince Florian and Ben being in love for example, while it was obvious the book was leading to that, it would have been nice to have a stronger interaction between the two. The foundation for this love was "mutual dreams" which were never explained. Really, if she had even made them more chummy while Ben was interacting with the Prince as the guise of a boy. If they had become friends or something of the like, the ending would have been more satisfying.

I was a little disappointed as well that no further explanation was provided on the spell book.

I also felt King Roland's proposal to Queen Sophia was a bit over the top. Not every person has to get married at the end of the book.

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Comparisons to The Inquisitor's Tale are unavoidable, but truly they are such different books. I prefer the Gidwitz because it had better character development and the creativity knocked my socks off. The Book of Boy is a great yarn that really had me engaged. I raced through it, but once I finished it I felt a bit unsatisfied.

I think mature middle grade readers will enjoy this, especially if they are interested in Catholicism, Christianity, the Middle Ages, and/or mysteries with big plot twists. It is exceptionally well-written.

It's hard to talk about my criticisms of this book without spoilers, so I'll hide the rest of this review.

Why did I feel unsatisfied? I think the bad guys (the greedy steward, the wicked girl) felt a bit tossed in without much effect but to heighten the danger/threat Boy feels. I think they demonstrated the greed for relics and how Boy as an angel was a commodity, so that worked, but it felt a bit shallow. Like the story didn't really them.

I also never cared that much for Secondus and his quest to reunite with his wife and child in heaven. When Secondus touched the tomb and disappeared I was underwhelmed. I could have potentially been in tears at that moment, but instead I was like, meh.

I did really like how the story ended for Boy. How he found his work as an angel. I grew up with this idea that angels are real and walk among us. Boy finding that he will have a happy, satisfying life helping people was a wondrous way to end the story. … (more)