Mark of the Plague

I have a soft spot for middle grade fantasy. The good ones seem to have this sense of wonder that we all need sometimes and they can be genuinely fun. It's especially brilliant when they are written so even an adult can see the merit in them.
It's especially important to get kids to understand how fun books can be, it will influence them for the rest of their lives. I remember when I realised that learning to read wasn't just something we did at school to do something, but it actually opened up a lot of new possibilities to me.
(I kept telling EVERYONE about the stuff I was reading, even totally uninterested people. I guess that was the first sign of danger for the developments of my adult life and here we are now.)

The plague arrives to London in the year 1665. People keep dying, panic is rising and as always, prophets and healers show up to either help or prey on the desperate people. Christopher still doesn't have a new master and the apothecary could have a lot of business, but as an apprentice, he is not supposed to sell anything. So when he hears about a mysterious man who heals people perfectly for free, of course he becomes interested. But what can be the magical cure? Things get complicated.

This book was amazing, all the good stuff a middle grade read could be; full of action, lovable characters, friendships, mystery, code breaking, even a bit of historical stuff, so I guess the kids will even learn something, which is nice. I'm not a parent and I'm not going to be one in the foreseeable future, but I'm pretty convinced that this would be a book I would be happy to give to my kids.
It just has so much heart, like you can feel the passion and love of the author for his creation. A labour of love, obviously.

I have to warn you, though, some elements are a bit dark. For kids who can handle that, this is a brilliant book, it can get them interested in many different things, while being really entertaining. It's not aggressively trying to teach you things, you just get intrigued and feel like reading up on something, which is exactly what I like. Still, you get the story without being a history lover or an expert code breaker. The perfect balance.

The author is not nearly famous enough, though. Please, people, buy his stuff. He really deserves it. Push these books, make them popular, I want to see them being turned into movies, okay? They would probably mess them up, but still.
During times like this I really regret not being ultra sociable to have people who ask for recommendations, because I would throw this at them in a heartbeat.

Sure, I am gushing and it's embarrassing, but I am being honest; this was absolutely AMAZING. Not sure how it managed to get everything I was looking for, but I am so happy about it. I should have read it the moment it came out, but hey, I am glad I finally did it.

Good night and take your vitamins!