I listened to the audiobook. Great narrator! I liked the main story of Duck, the Crowns, and Griselda Baker. I loved the bread stuff (because I love bread). But I had issues with the gargoyle.

At first, I really enjoyed the gargoyle sections, but as the book went on, they started to seem tedious (which makes me wonder if children will also find it difficult to get through). Do the gargoyle chapters move the story along? Do they contribute to the big themes of loyalty and survival? Does the gargoyle provide a necessary perspective? I'm not sure he does. By the end of the book, I was not a fan of the grumpy gargoyle. I think young readers will like how the gargoyle plays a part in the end, but I'm not sure they'll make it through all his complaining.

I've read and enjoyed many middle-grade historical novels about children surviving on the margins. Some of my favorites are [b:The Thief Lord|113304|The Thief Lord|Cornelia Funke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327960342l/113304._SY75_.jpg|3313414], [b:Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster|37811512|Sweep The Story of a Girl and Her Monster|Jonathan Auxier|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536675436l/37811512._SX50_.jpg|59489664], [b:Splendors and Glooms|13531021|Splendors and Glooms|Laura Amy Schlitz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360096699l/13531021._SX50_.jpg|19092689], [b:City of Orphans|10059059|City of Orphans|Avi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1350862321l/10059059._SY75_.jpg|14955231], [b:The Bridge Home|40206380|The Bridge Home|Padma Venkatraman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531855208l/40206380._SY75_.jpg|62415765], and [b:Bloody Jack|295649|Bloody Jack (Bloody Jack, #1)|L.A. Meyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392868382l/295649._SX50_.jpg|286886]. You know, books that make you think about Aladdin singing, "Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat." The Patrons Thief of Bread has a lot of similarities with these books, so could be a good read-alike. But it didn't quite measure up for me.

What time period is this supposed to be? Novelist says Medieval period (476-1492). But I was thrown off by a thing that happens near the end when Griselda says insurance will cover her losses. Fire insurance doesn't seem like something that existed during medieval times to me (not that I'm an expert). Also the idea of being an "inside cat" doesn't seem medieval to me either. Did people have litter boxes in medieval times? I'm nitpicking, but details like these can take a reader out of the world the author is trying to build.

Finally, a few questions about the Red Swords. In what world would pickpockets and thieves wear something as recognizable as a red glove on one hand? Are they trying to get caught? ( )

There's a great story at the heart of this -- Duck and Griselda, the Crowns -- there's a lot of heart and growing up and exploration of emotions going on. There's no easy answer to the dilemmas, and I really enjoyed it. I kept wanting to come back to it and sit down with it and just be enveloped by the bakery and the characters and the wonderful settings -- cathedral, garden, bakery, town. That said, I think this is better classed as a fantasy novel, rather than a medieval one. There are far too many details that are modern or Victorian or plain old fantasy that are just layered in to the world, and that's quite frustrating, really, because they wouldn't be hard to substitute out for things that were there in the time period, and every time I ran across one it just knocked me right back out of the book.

For example: Jacks; Honey Sticks; Christmas presents as modern kids know them (they are even depicted as a box with a bow in the illustrations for winter); a tournament jousting circuit for sport (I mean, this _kind of_ existed, but the one in the book is very Knight's Tale); sneaking into a mystery play (these were open air, put on by various guilds, and often performed on a wagon converted into a stage -- sneak in where?); insurance as modern people know it (seems to have existed from early times, but focused on merchants/trading, not property/buildings); Griselda's flippant attitude towards the guild (the guilds were a BIG deal, and if anyone _was_ going to rebuild the bakery, the guild is who would assist); frankly the whole level of prosperity that Griselda enjoys -- wonderful, but confusing; the types of flavors that Duck experiments with -- delicious, but very much not a medieval palate, which favored heavily spiced flavors and fruits; bakers dressing in "whites"; the obligation to teach an apprentice to read and the idea of hiring a notary to do so; it goes on from there. None of these are awful, but when you compare to a book by Karen Cushman, for instance, it doesn't stand up well.

The gargoyle was a complete waste of time. I said it. It adds nothing to the book, and mostly just whinges on periodically and distracts from the story.

Boy, this came out far more negatively than I meant -- I refer you back to beginning of the review, where I just loved the world and the characters and the story they were building between them, because there's a lot of great stuff here, too.

Advanced reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

I really liked this story as it was very unique. I particularly liked the conversations the gargoyle has with himself and all that he has 'experienced' from being on top of the cathedral. It was nice to see the evolution of Duck and the qualities of the baker as she encouraged her to learn and grow. A very nice read and I highly recommend.
( )

I’ve been slowly working my way through this book (because I have 4 very young kids and not much free time). I’m quite invested in the story…especially the fate of Duck. Throughout her life it seems that everything happens TO her. After the initial chapters, I think we are seeing her step up and start being an active participant in making life happen on her own terms. She is quiet, but has her own opinions that can be vastly at odds with the people in her circle of protection (are they really protecting her?). She is finding her voice.

I received an ARC of this novel while at the Texas Library Association's Conference in Fort Worth this spring. I loved Lindsay Eagar's Hour of the Bees, so I really wanted to read this novel.

Found in a river and saved from drowning, Duck only knows the gang who raises her, the Crowns. Gnat runs the orphans that he has collected, teaching them to steal and survive while instilling a sense of family with everyone. We meet Duck as she must steal bread for the first time from the local bakery. The Crowns have recently arrived in this new town and find their lodgings in an abandoned, never-completed cathedral. Duck finds solace looking over the town and hanging out with the gargoyles and her closest friend, Ash. When she finds herself in front of the friendly baker, Duck discovers the baker sees very poorly and easily cheats the baker out of bread. Gnat devises an even bigger plan. Duck will become the baker's apprentice and make sure she provides bread regularly to the Crowns.

Duck now lives with the Baker who also has an apprentice, Petrus, who does not trust this young girl, making Duck's situation even more challenging. Petrus protects Griselde, the baker, because she has a huge heart and was "taken" by another apprentice not long ago. Petrus determines to never let her get "taken" by someone again. As she stays longer and longer, Duck wonders if Gnat and the Crowns will forget her. She successfully passes bread each Saturday. While in "exile," Duck learns about making bread, picking herbs, and being part of another type of family--one that basis family on acceptance and love, not by what you must do to maintain a place with them. Problems ensue. Some items begins disappearing with Duck knowing the Crowns are involved. Duck still feels completely part of the Crowns and fully intends on following Gnats' orders and helping the crowns despite what it will do to Griselde and Petrus.

There's another character I haven't mentioned: the largest Gargoyle on the abandoned church. He watches as a mother falls from the top of the church with her baby into the river beneath. The Gargoyle wants so badly to protect, but he cannot move his stone body and laments the loss of this woman and her child. He continues listening to the gabbing of the other gargoyles, as he watches on the other side of the church alone. He lives century after century and hopes only for the church to be restored, allowing the gargoyles to protect the churches as intended.

I had trouble getting into the novel because I struggled with the chapters from the gargoyle's point of view. I love the idea and came to wish for a better life for these lifeless gargoyles by the end of the novel. I think middle schoolers will struggle with getting into the novel because of this beginning. I easily put the novel down and made myself pick it up. I wish I could have sat and spent time reading in long stretching because I think I would have been enthralled faster. As the novel progresses, we meet the different townspeople and want life to work out for everyone. We want the best for each character and worry they won't accept trust or love or their love and trust won't be accepted. By the end of the novel, I loved the story of Duck and the gargoyles and passed the ARC along to the next reader. it's definitely a beautiful novel about acceptance, love, and second chances. If you choose to take them, you may find a life full of people, change, possibility, and hope. ( )