- a blind, orphaned boy is set on a fantastical quest to help people in great need
- themes include: working together as individuals with varied gifts, courage, determination, defending the weak
- violence: mentions birds peck out a baby’s eyes, various kinds of mistreatment of children (locked up, near starvation, forced to work/slavery, whipping mentioned but not described), mentions murders & other crimes, a few battle scenes with injuries and deaths
- other content considerations: rum/wine mentioned (rare); magical elements such as disappearing & reappearing somewhere else, talking animals, etc.; 2 instances of girls giggling & blushing around a boy
- language: bloody x13, blasted x4, stupid x8, gosh x1, golly x1, mild name calling
Type: fantasy novel
Ages: 11+
Author: Jonathan Auxier
My main goal in reading this book was to find a birthday gift for one of my children. That goal was met with flying colors! I truly enjoyed the story myself, but I know the boy for whom it’s destined will absolutely love it (he’ll turn 13, so it’s great for teens, too).
A note about the violence: In my opinion, most 11-year-olds could handle this book’s content due to those scenes being occasionally woven in with humorous lines, thus lightening the tone considerably. Furthermore, the fact that it’s a fantasy story has a way of making “hard” content more consumable.
One of Auxier’s literary talents was astounding: He made me feel blind myself! Being in the blind boy’s head (his point-of-view most of the time) was so unique, and various descriptions were crafted in such a way that almost heightened my other senses. Readers will hear, smell, and feel more than usual.
Now, that said, I understand the physical version has some sketches by the author, which may or may not alter the previous paragraph’s prediction. 🙂 I happened to listen to this one to make sure we wanted to add it to our shelves (most definitely). The reader, Michael Page, did a great performance, if you’re an audiobook fan.
Overall, Peter Nimble’s story is fantastic. It was my second Auxier novel and certainly not my last. I hope you and/or your children are able to enjoy it one day!
“You may have observed in your own lives that there is a great power in storytelling. A well-spun tale can transport listeners away from their hum-drum lives and return them with an enlarged sense of the world.”
Also see book thoughts for:
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster