Gladiator Fight for Freedom

February 1, 2012
When his father, a former Roman centurion, is murdered, 10-year-old Marcus Cornelius Primus is enslaved and forced into training as a gladiator, and his mother, a former slave, is returned to slavery. "The Gods will play their games," Aulus Tullius Taurus, his chief training instructor, tells him, reflecting on Marcus' declining fortunes. Marcus' dream is to survive gladiator school and one day earn his freedom. But his path will not be easy. Gladiator training is harsh enough, but he must also face a bully in the form of Ferax, a Celt bent on his destruction. But Marcus develops a friendship with Brixus, a slave in the kitchen who had once been a lieutenant to Spartacus, and Brixus discovers a secret about Marcus that will alter Marcus' destiny. When Marcus is forced to face wolves in an early gladiator challenge and ends up saving the life of Portia, the niece of Gaius Julius Caesar, his life takes a turn, as Caesar brings Marcus to Rome to be Portia's bodyguard. It's an exciting, well-told adventure that deserves a readership...if young readers can get past the corny cover and untangle all the names that end in -us. Marcus' exciting journey as a Roman slave and the unfolding of secrets and fortunes will have readers racing through the pages and eagerly anticipating the sequel, Street Fighter. (Historical adventure. 10-14)

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March 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-This action-packed adventure set in ancient Greece and Rome follows the travails of 10-year-old Marcus Cornelius Primus, who manages to escape from the vengeful moneylender who has killed the man he always considered his father and kidnapped his mother. Determined to seek justice from his centurion stepfather's former commander, General Pompey, Marcus flees toward Rome, only to be sold into slavery and imprisoned in a gladiator training school. As his sense of social justice is awakened by the barbaric treatment meted out to him and the other students, Marcus learns more about Spartacus, the leader of the great slave rebellion so viciously put down by Pompey and other Roman leaders a decade earlier. When it comes time to put his training to the test in a climactic fight, he earns himself a position in Caesar's household by virtue of his great courage and skill-traits that it turns out he has inherited from his biological father, Spartacus. This heavily foreshadowed reveal, coming as it does in the final pages of the book, sets the stage for a sequel. The well-paced plot does not skimp on gore and savagery. Nor does Scarrow shy away from depicting the horrors of slavery, as Marcus's sense of personal unfairness begins to expand into a larger understanding of the injustices on which his society is founded. Mature readers who can handle the violence and bloodshed will also absorb well-integrated factual information about topics such as the different kinds of gladiators and the rivalry between Athens and Sparta.-Kate Hewitt, Far Brook School, Short Hills, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2012
Grades 5-8 In this opener to the Gladiator series, the (supposed) son of a retired Roman centurion is kidnapped and sold to a lanista (trainer). Dedicated to Rosemary Sutcliff and written in a similar style (though with explicit descriptions of brutal fights and occasional trips to the latrine added), the tale opens with the slaughter of Spartacus' army, then cuts to an attack 10 years later that leaves Marcus' father dead, his mother a slave, and he himself forcibly transported to a school for gladiators. Determined to free himself and rescue his mother, Marcus survives a harsh training regimen and acquits himself so well in his first fight that he is sold away to be a bodyguard for Julius Caesar's daughter. He also learns something about his true background that leaves him with a wider perspective on the evils of slavery. Scarrow doesn't try as hard as he might for period flavor ( I'll be sure to pass on the customer feedback, says one character), but generous doses of violence will appeal to video gamehardened readers, and Marcus proves to be a courageous and resourceful fighter. Stay tuned.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)