here lies Arthur

Yep, I managed to finish this YA gem while the oldest was running 3.5 miles with her soccer team at one of our local parks.

What a wonderful read. I've never had the pleasure of reading a Philip Reeve book before this, but you can bet I will be looking for more of his titles. Beautiful writing, great characters, a tight plot, wonderful conflicts of all sorts....it was like eating a really, really decadent dessert. Yum.

I've read a variety of takes on the Arthurian legend for a variety of age groups. I've read them where the story has been told by the women in the legends. I even think I read one where an animal told the story. However, I do believe this is the first one I read where Arthur is presented as a small time warlord who pillages the occasional village. This Arthur is short tempered, ego-centric and not noble at all. This Arthur will order his own men killed to protect his holdings.

The story is told by Gwynna, a young girl whose family is killed by Arthur's men. She escapes the carnage by swimming down the river and is eventually plucked from the waters by Myrddin (Merlin). He dresses her as a boy and proceeds to use her swimming skills to create the whole sword coming out of the water scene. Yes, she is the lake-lady. She befriends the boys in Arthur's army and gets a first hand taste of battle. Eventually nature intervenes and Myrddin realizes she must disappear and reappear as the girl that she is. When Gwynna comes back she is placed in Gwynnhfar's household to spy on Arthur's Christian wife.

I don't want to reveal more of the story beyond that point, but I will warn that this YA book doesn't shy away from infidelity, murder and even gender roles. It also touches repeatedly on the concept that history is basically comprised of the lies that we agree to....and the stories we tell which most often are not based on whole truths.

Two major thumbs up for this book. Bravo.

Happy Valentine's Day to all....hug your sweetie.