Book: Song Of The Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

Book Info: Published by Scholastic Inc.; 394 pages; hardcover; checked out from the library

Goodreads Summary: The year is 490 AD. Fiery 16-year-old Elaine of Ascolat, the daughter of one of King Arthur’s supporters, lives with her father on Arthur’s base camp, the sole girl in a militaristic world of men. Elaine’s only girl companion is the mysterious Morgan, Arthur’s older sister, but Elaine cannot tell Morgan her deepest secret: She is in love with Lancelot, Arthur’s second-in-command. However, when yet another girl — the lovely Gwynivere– joins their world, Elaine is confronted with startling emotions of jealousy and rivalry. But can her love for Lancelot survive the birth of an empire?

I thought Song Of The Sparrow was just okay.  I got really bored halfway through, but I wanted to keep reading.

I’m not sure about the fact that it was told in verse.  It was nice to see things through Elaine’s perspective, but there was just something off about it.  Interestingly enough, though, it was well-written.

I liked that it was narrated by Elaine.  It seems like a lot of books based off of Arthurian legend are narrated by Morgan or Guinevere, so it was refreshing to see something narrated by someone else.

As for the characters, I couldn’t really care about any of them.  Guinevere was annoying, all of the men were just there, and I didn’t care about Elaine.  I feel like we were supposed to like her and sympathize with her, but I just couldn’t.  She whined too much- I get she’s the only female in a sea of men, but her thinking about it a lot it got very tiring.

Another thing I didn’t like was the fact that it didn’t feel historical enough.  It felt too modern, and for me, Sandell only included the historical backdrop when it was convenient.

Overall, it gets a 2 out of 5.  I kind of get why people like it, but I was bored.