The first book I decided to crack open for Reread November was Girl in a Cage. I can't remember exactly how old I was when I bought this book at a school book fair, but I believe I was in late elementary school (proved true by the fact that the few "bad" words in the book, such as bastard and damn, have been scratched out by my preadolescent self).
I was quite a sucker for historical fiction in my late elementary and middle school years, particularly when it came to European history, so this was right up my alley then. Now, as you can probably tell, I've expanded my reading a bit, though I still stick mostly to YA fiction, but I still carry that fondness for stories that can be woven around truth, giving the reader a new perspective on events that once took place. There's something truly fascinating about being able to give a story that extra substance through the sharing of true events.
In Girl in a Cage, we are introduced to Marjorie, daughter to Robert the Bruce and eleven year-old princess of Scotland. When Majorie first learned that she was to become a princess, she could think only of the splendor of living in a castle and being arrayed in finery. Now she sits in a cage in the middle of an English town, exposed to the elements and the jeers of the townspeople, visited almost daily by King Edward Longshanks, whose sole purpose in life seems to be tormenting her. A few months ago, she would have never seen this coming.
England, who has long been in control of Scotland, wages battle against Robert the Bruce and his followers in Scotland. Marjorie is a hostage in this war, as are many of the female members of her family, including the new queen of Scotland, Marjorie's stepmother.
In her captivity, Marjorie must leave childhood behind and seek the strength and bravery that her father has taught her to possess. She must draw on her belief in who she is and the love of her country to preserve her, even as the English king seeks to test her loyalty to the father she so dearly loves. Marjorie clings to her hope of rescue, her hope of seeing her father and her beloved country once more. But the will of Longshanks has taken the life of more than one person she holds dear, will it claim hers as well?
I really enjoyed getting the chance to revisit a book I so enjoyed in my childhood and was glad to see I hadn't been deceived in its virtue. It's quite a good book and it isn't just sentimentality that leads me to that conclusion. Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris do a lovely job at filling the story with convincing details, touching moments, and creating a princess worthy of the title that inspires the reader through every page, even in her faults.
This book has a lot to teach young teens and children about bravery and the act of loyalty without being preachy or uninteresting. It's an enthralling story with a good deal of merit. I would especially suggest it for those children just entering the YA world and need something of substance, but whose contents aren't overly mature for their understanding. Yet I would still venture to suggest it to older teens and adults, because there's always plenty for us to learn, particularly when it comes to courage and loyalty.
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
"Oh, feeling has nothing to do with it, Marjorie. It is not a feeling hot or cold, dry or wet. Brave is how you behave."
"Then I did not behave bravely, Father," I admitted. "it was Elizabeth who--"
He stopped me with a finger on his lips. "Elizabeth told how brave you were," he said.
I yawned. "I just did what I was told."
"Sometimes that is all that courage is," he said. "Just doing what you know you have to do."
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