Tiana Smith

I'm not quite sure how to rate this book ... On one hand, the writing was brilliant, the voice was spot on, and I loved seeing the scrapes that Catherine got into. The setting felt very real to me and it was obvious that Karen Cushman did her research. On the other hand, that time period was very different (England 1290s) and the way that poor Catherine was treated sometimes made me furious (her father hits her, she's married off against her will, etc.) though these things were all very normal for the time. Also, I'm still not entirely sure what the plot was ... It covers every day of her life as she grows up and learns to accept her responsibilities, but the overall plot arch didn't have a lot of direction.