From The Horn: "The story is beautifully served by its presentation — generous page design, thick deckle-edged paper, and gorgeous woodcut-style illustrations that head each chapter. Most remarkable and unusual is the character of Boy, a complex and compelling being whose defining quality is goodness."

Comparisons to The Inquisitor's Tale are unavoidable, but truly they are such different books. I prefer the Gidwitz because it had better character development and the creativity knocked my socks off. The Book of Boy is a great yarn that really had me engaged. I raced through it, but once I finished it I felt a bit unsatisfied.

I think mature middle grade readers will enjoy this, especially if they are interested in Catholicism, Christianity, the Middle Ages, and/or mysteries with big plot twists. It is exceptionally well-written.

It's hard to talk about my criticisms of this book without spoilers, so I'll hide the rest of this review.

Why did I feel unsatisfied? I think the bad guys (the greedy steward, the wicked girl) felt a bit tossed in without much effect but to heighten the danger/threat Boy feels. I think they demonstrated the greed for relics and how Boy as an angel was a commodity, so that worked, but it felt a bit shallow. Like the story didn't really them.

I also never cared that much for Secondus and his quest to reunite with his wife and child in heaven. When Secondus touched the tomb and disappeared I was underwhelmed. I could have potentially been in tears at that moment, but instead I was like, meh.

I did really like how the story ended for Boy. How he found his work as an angel. I grew up with this idea that angels are real and walk among us. Boy finding that he will have a happy, satisfying life helping people was a wondrous way to end the story. ( )

Lovely, just lovely... I didn't want it to end. ( )

Beautifully crafted story! Every word the correct word, every step, impression, character, so well crafted. A work of art and a pleasure to be included in the story. ( )

I finished reading the Newbery Honor book Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock and I wonder why this was so highly regarded in 2018? I don't think this story is going to age well. It is basically a retelling of a medieval tale and the motivations of the characters is not clear. Modern children are going to have a hard time relating to the belief system of that time and will regard this book as a fantasy rather than medieval morality play. Teachers will have to do too much work to set the stage for the story and in the end it probably won't be worth it. I think this is a Newbery clunker. ( )