The Book of Boy, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

The medievalist in me thrills at this book, set in the year 1350 after a particularly bad bout of the plague. Those readers who identify as Catholic might be a little uncomfortable at the portrayal of a couple tenants of their faith as pure fantasy. I think it's brilliant, but some modern day Catholics do still believe in the power of saintly relics to cure, and in the existence of angels, and I worry a bit that this story might offend them. Of course, you can't please everyone, and those uncomfortable with the subject need not read it.

For everyone else, you'll find a little treasure of a book for ages 8-12, with a lovely message about accepting yourself as you are and rising above. Boy is a hunchback, charged with keeping the goats at his lord's manor in rural France. Though joyful by nature, he is bullied and teased into submission, and the priest who raised him - and warned him never to take off his tunic for any reason - perished in the Black Death. When a strange, foul-smelling pilgrim happens upon Boy's climbing abilities, Boy is sent away to assist the pilgrim and journeys much further beyond his master's lands than he ever dared dreamed he'd go. Boy is naive but not stupid, and as the days go on, he learns the true nature of the pilgrim's quest.

I recognized many tropes of Catholic beliefs and literature, though children will undoubtedly read it as fantasy. This is a great book for any kid curious about the world that was, or who feels him or herself a little different from others, or simply for anyone looking for a fun hero's journey.