Linda Welcomes You
My Latest Book | My First Book | My Current Project
About My Latest Book:
CRUSADE
Reading level: All Ages
Paperback: 256 Pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury (January, 2011)
Language: English
On a legendary crusade of children led by a 12-year-old shepherd through France in the thirteenth century, a poor girl educated by a village priest meets up with an orphan boy of prodigious intelligence and unusual education. They lose their innocence during the terrible expedition, but the wisdom they gain eventually leads them on a more meaningful journey. Based on historical accounts of a children’s crusade in 1212, the story tells of adventures and tragedies, faith and hypocrisy, the danger of extremism and the power of love.
The subject of the Crusades is currently experiencing a resurgence of interest. There are books, movies, and even a new opera about the dramatic surge of knights across Europe. But few people have heard of the Children’s Crusades of 1212, two separate pilgrimages led by 12 year old boys, followed by thousands of youngsters, with few adults to guide or protect them.
Linda Press Wulf, whose first work of historical fiction for young readers garnered awards and glowing reviews, has woven from this fascinating episode in history a tale that touches on a major contemporary concern – the actions of those who love their god in extreme ways. Travelling the roads of medieval France with Robert the Rope and Georgette of Illiers, the story’s equally strong male and female protagonists, readers will be introduced to the Poor of Lyon, a group that pre-dated Luther’s Reformation by three centuries, and to the newly formed University of Paris and the half-built structure of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Some Early Reviews
• A Dream of Books ‘A fantastic account of a significant event in Medieval history. It’s informative and educational, but also a really moving read that was both touching and poignant and beautifully written’
• Parents in Touch ‘This book is written from the viewpoint of both a boy and a girl, giving it universal appeal – the reader is drawn into the lives of these two characters and their love story’
• The Bookbag (4-star review) ‘For any reader curious to learn about the Middle ages, this is an excellent book. The account of everyday life on the road, and the attitudes of rich and poor alike to the travellers show a depth of research and imagination which cannot be faulted’
• The Overflowing Library ‘A thoughtful, well written novel which both entertains and educates the reader by providing an exciting storyline and awesome characters along with posing intelligent and thought provoking questions about medieval life which are still relevant and poignant to a 21st century reader’
• Books are a Girl’s Best Friend ‘Linda Press Wulf has created a wonderful and beautifully evocative story’
• Amaterasu Reads ‘An unforgettable read . . . Linda Press Wulf has a remarkable talent for writing’
• I Was a Teenage Book Geek ‘Crusade approaches the issue of religious fanaticism and intolerance in a way that is hugely relevant to modern society . . . Rich in period detail and incredibly authentic in voice, it’s a book that takes distant legends of a Children’s Crusade and transforms them into something vital and powerful’
• YA Book Reads ‘As there is little known about the Crusade it has allowed Wulf to explore what could have happened and I love where she went with it. The facts that are known have been excellently weaved into the story making it seem very realistic and all the more heart-wrenching when things take a turn for the worst’
• Books Monthly ‘Atmospheric, highly charged, this is the perfect introduction to historical romance for teens. A beautiful story, beautifully told. Stunning’
• My Favourite Books ‘I’d highly recommend Crusade as a book full of drama and high stakes’
• Swords and Sandals ‘A gripping read. Wulf’s descriptions of the main characters’ spiritual awakening are both accurate and moving, and this is the main strength of the book. This is a story that pushes the envelope and deserves to be a hit!’
About My First Book:
THE NIGHT OF THE BURNING: Devorah’s Story
Reading level: All Ages
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (September 5, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN: 0374364192
Devorah’s world is shattered by the tragedies of post-Great War Europe: gas poisoning, famine, typhoid, and influenza. Then comes the Night of the Burning, when Cossacks provoke Christian Poles to attack their Jewish neighbors. In 1920, eleven-year-old Devorah and her little sister, Nechama, are the sole survivors of their community. Salvation arrives in the unlikely form of a South African philanthropist named Isaac Ochberg, who invited Devorah and Nechama to join his group of two hundred orphans in their journey to safety in South Africa. Although reluctant to leave her homeland, and afraid to forget her family, Devorah has no option but to join her sister, who insists on going to the new country. There Devorah is dealt the greatest blow — Nechama is adopted and taken away from her. In the end, though, Devorah realizes that she is not solely responsible for keeping the past alive, and that she will not betray her beloved parents when she is adopted herself — and finds happiness again.
Editions Published:
USA, hardcover
UK, hardcover and paperback
Holland
Korea
UK Paperback Cover
Summary of Awards and Reviews
Awards
A Booksense.com Winter Children’s Pick
A Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor Book
Selected for lists of the best children’s books of 2006 by
* the New York Public Library (“100 Titles for Reading and Sharing”)
* the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (“CCBC Choices 2007”)
* the Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education
* the “Forward”
A California Writers Club First Prize for children’s fiction manuscript
A Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award
Reviews
“An insightful exploration of the effects of traumatic experiences, and an ultimately hopeful portrait of a young girl . . . [A] masterful job of showing the complexity of relationships among religious and ethnic groups in [S. Africa and Poland] . . . The relationships between the protagonist, her adoptive parents, and their domestic worker are particularly well realized. However, the light that shines through this book is the carefully imagined and described process of painful but ultimately positive personal growth that Devorah experiences.” —School Library Journal
“[T]he story is gripping . . ..” —Hazel Rochman, Booklist
“Heartbreaking & poignant with a positive conclusion . . . A haunting work of historical fiction” —Kirkus Reviews
“Devorah’s narration alternates between flashbacks to life in the sisters’ Polish village of Domachevo and their later experiences as orphans, and both tales are equally touching and engrossing; her observations of the way black South Africans are accorded underclass status within their own country leads to provocative comparisons with her own sudden class reversal as a member of a relatively privileged white community.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“With bittersweet overtones, it reminds the reader of human savagery yet also shows the caring strength of one man and the power of sisterly ties.” —selected and reviewed by Lesley Agnew, leading independent bookseller, for “Teenage Previews for March-June,” The Bookseller, U.K.
“A simply written, but extremely powerful, novel . . . Wulf displays great skill in her poignant handling of one of the darkest periods of 20th century history. [The sisters] are drawn with remarkable sympathy and understanding . . . [A] very impressive achievement . . . conveying to young readers some notion of the depths of evil to which humanity can sink, but at the same time demonstrating to them the strengths of resilience, tolerance & love.”—Robert Dunbar, The Irish Times
About My Current Project:
I’ll will be posting information on my current project soon. Thanks for your interest.
