126. A Season Most Unfair

A Season Most Unfair. J. Anderson Coats. 2023. 285 pages. [Source: Library] [Children's Historical; MG Historical, Middle Ages]

First sentence: I'm only going out to get the fire started, but already the cats have assembled.

Premise/plot: A Season Most Unfair is set in medieval England. (Presumably because one of the settings is Cambridge.) The dates are fuzzy. The day-to-day details are fuzzy. But the main story is solid. Scholastica "Tick" is a young girl/young woman who's grown up helping her father, a chandler (or candlestick maker). But this year he's got an apprentice, Henry, the son of a friend. Henry is now learning the trade and taking over ALL her jobs. Not a single job left behind. Tick knows that she's got all the skills. She knows exactly what to do and how to make the best of the best. But her father--who's going blind--needs an apprentice, a BOY. Tick is VERY, well, ticked. She's not a happy camper. So how will she respond to all the dozens of changes going on in her life????

My thoughts: I didn't love this one. I really liked elements of it. I'm glad that Tick and Henry progressed to friendly. She was SO angry at the situation at the beginning. I loved that even though we see the events unfold through her eyes, her perspective, the characters are fleshed-out. I enjoyed getting to know all the characters better. The context could have been developed more. But I liked this one well enough.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews