Crispin (the Cross of Lead) by Avi

This is another one of those Newbery Winners (2003) that most kids don’t warm up to. I understand to a degree. It took me a while to get into the book – I couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be. Elements of mystery, adventure, historical realism even humor wind through the narrative from chapter to chapter. That’s typical of Avi, the virtual chameleon of young adult writers, and once I just accepted it at face value I was pulled in. The story focuses on “Asta’s son”, a poor boy who must flee his village after his stepmother dies and he is accused of a crime he did not commit. There are secrets about the boy’s existence (not the least of which is “Crispin” which he learns is his name), hinted at but not solved in this novel (there has since been a sequel I have not read). I think I began to enjoy this story when the newly dubbed Crispin meets Bear – a juggler and possible thief whose philosophy of life is enjoyable and warm. The book is good, but again, not the kind of “great” that I expect of a Newbery. I preferred Avi’s “The Man Who Was Poe” and “Nothing But the Truth” to this novel, but I haven’t quite figured out the distaste for it that many students have, unless it is just too similar to history class subjects. Comments?