League of Archers

September 15, 2016
A young novice nun wrongfully accused of Robin Hood's murder must clear her name.Elinor Dray has been living at Kirklees Abbey since her mother was hanged for poaching on the baron's lands four years prior. Nevertheless, need outweighs danger, and Ellie often slips out to hunt in Sherwood Forest with her friends, the League of Archers. One evening she helps a lone archer injured by a poisoned arrow only to discover he's Robin Hood--and the mother abbess is Maid Marian. Third-person narration communicates Elinor's confusion, elation, and disappointment in meeting her hero only to have him die--and wonder if he was a hero after all. Readers may need to suspend disbelief when the baron accuses Ellie--who, though a skilled archer, is just 12--of Hood's murder. Ellie eventually escapes the baron's clutches and reunites with the League, but in order to stay safe and save Maid Marian, she must find the Merry Men while grappling with such questions as whether the sacrifice of life for the greater good is ethical. This book doesn't shy away from deep moral dilemmas often unexplored in middle-grade novels and important to acknowledge in a story with life-or-death stakes. Unsurprisingly, the principal characters are white. Perhaps a tad longer than necessary, this generally well-paced post-legend take on the Robin Hood myth will captivate action and adventure fans and lovers of historical fiction alike. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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September 1, 2016

Gr 5-7-Sent to live in a nunnery after her mother's death, 12-year-old Ellie spends her days as a novice nun and her evenings hunting in the woods with her friends-known among themselves as the League of Archers. Like their heroes, Robin Hood and his Merry Men, they hunt in secret on the villainous Baron's land in order to feed those in need. One night, Ellie encounters a mysterious man in the woods who is shot by a poisonous arrow. She brings him back to the nunnery only to discover that he is Robin Hood and the kind abbess of the nunnery is Maid Marion. What follows are a chain of events in which Ellie is publicly blamed for the death of Robin Hood. Friendships are tested as Ellie and her loyal League of Archers work in secret to uncover the mystery of Robin Hood's death and convince the village of her innocence. Readers will thrill at the nonstop action and adventure of this engaging tale. The familiar settings of Sherwood Forest and Nottingham add an extra level of interest for fans of the original story and Disney movie. Howard has created a thoughtful and likable character in Ellie, who is forced to reconsider her rosy image of Robin Hood as an unblemished hero. Despite the youth of her main characters, Howard doesn't shy away from the harsh reality of death, danger, and cruelty: Ellie's mother is hanged for hunting on the Baron's land, Robin Hood's dead and rotting body is dragged around for display, and Ellie herself struggles with guilt and confusion when she kills a man with an arrow during a fight. VERDICT A deep and satisfying series opener; recommended for upper-middle grade and middle school readers.-Kristy Pasquariello, Wellesley Free Library, MA

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