Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

   This is a book I borrowed from LU. I read it before JH's books because I want to get it back to her before I go back to school. Moving on.
   I started out thinking I was going to hate this book, which is always a good attittude. It is written in free verse poetry format and I was annoyed with the description on the back cover. The fact is, if a book summary asks a question, I am going to be annoyed; "Will the main character be able to overcome the problems given them by the antagonist?" Hmmm, I wonder. Anyway, the only problem I actually had with this book was that instead of " she used italics for what people were saying out loud. It was slightly confusing and reading italics that often gives me a headache. Also, I hated the cover picture. I don't have the slightest idea who the girl on the cover is supposed to be; there were only three female characters in the book.
   So, this book was an Arthurian legend book.  This is the first version of Tristan/Tristram I have run across that I didn't hate (I tried twice to watch the movie Tristan and Isolde. Couldn't get through it.) Lancelot I still found an idiot but Gwynivere grew on me. I have no idea who the protagonist, Elaine, is in actual Arthurian legend, having only come across her in The Squire's Tales, so I don't know how well her character fit with the stories but she seemed like a realistic 16 year old girl.
   Sandell's depiction of love was one I can approve of, mostly; none of the love at first sight or every other person cheating and whatnot. And, while some things may have been to convenient, I didn't really mind, which is all that really matters when reading fiction. I probably should read it again, though; I skimmed most of the beginning because I didn't like the form Sandell was writing in. Also, I probably would have gotten more out of this book if I knew more about the original stories. You will see how dumb I was in this regard in my next post.
   Rating: Good to great
   Read again: definitely.
   You read: Girls will definitely like this story more then a guy would. If you are a girl, then yes; read it. Guys probably want to skip this one, but, then again, what do I know? Do what you want.
  Age: Teens +