A Perfect Gentle Knight
by Kit Pearson
On This Page
Description
Kit Pearson's most recent and critically acclaimed novel tells the story of the 5 Bell children, each of them coping in various ways in the aftermath of their mother's death. Set in the 1950s and seen through the perspective of the middle child, 11-year-old Corrie, A Perfect Gentle Knight illustrates how a rich fantasy life both helps and hinders children trying to cope with loss, loneliness, and growing up.While elder sister Roz is growing up and out of the desire for fantasy games, eldest show more brother Sebastian, who fancies himself Sir Lancelot in their Round Table game, continues to need it as much as ever, creating tension in the family and concern for Corrie, who worries that he may have lost his grip on reality.. show less
Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Now here is a work of Young Adult fiction that resonates with children and adults alike. Sometimes great truths and deep ideas can be found in YA books, and this newest offering by Kit Pearson is a perfect example. Pearson was a favourite of mine when I was about 8-11, and so when I saw her latest book in the library, I knew I had to read it.
A Perfect Gentle Knight is the story of the Bell children - Sebastian, Roz, Corrie, Harry, Orly, and Juliet. Their father is a professor who specializes in Shakespeare (all six children are named after a Shakespeare character), and their mother died a few years ago. To cope with their mother's death, the children start a complex game playing Knights of the Round Table. This game brings the children show more together, and gives them a form of security in their scary world. Lately, however, Roz has felt too old for this game; Sebastian, on the other hand, is so depressed that he increasingly loses himself in the character of Lancelot. Our heroine, Corrie (short for Cordelia), is eleven, and trying to desperately hold her family together, while attempting to make friends and live a normal life. As the year goes on, Sebastian falls deeper and deeper into trouble - trouble that Corrie does not know how to fix.
This book was simply wonderful to read; it merged my childhood love of Pearson's characters and story-telling with my more recent love of Arthurian Legend. Corrie is a complex child whose thoughts are adult enough to be interesting, but not too adult that she is an unbelievable eleven-year-old. The dynamics between the six children was very special - the Bell's have extraordinary sibling relationships.
Pearson generally deals with difficult themes in her writing. A Perfect Gentle Knight contains many different ways people cope with grief, and never did I feel as though the author was simplifying things. This really is one of those books that is perfect for any age - children will sympathize with the children's situation, and teens and adults will be able to read more into the story. It has been a long time since a children's novel has had such an impact on me - in fact, this book may have affected me more than any other "adult" novel I have read this year. show less
A Perfect Gentle Knight is the story of the Bell children - Sebastian, Roz, Corrie, Harry, Orly, and Juliet. Their father is a professor who specializes in Shakespeare (all six children are named after a Shakespeare character), and their mother died a few years ago. To cope with their mother's death, the children start a complex game playing Knights of the Round Table. This game brings the children show more together, and gives them a form of security in their scary world. Lately, however, Roz has felt too old for this game; Sebastian, on the other hand, is so depressed that he increasingly loses himself in the character of Lancelot. Our heroine, Corrie (short for Cordelia), is eleven, and trying to desperately hold her family together, while attempting to make friends and live a normal life. As the year goes on, Sebastian falls deeper and deeper into trouble - trouble that Corrie does not know how to fix.
This book was simply wonderful to read; it merged my childhood love of Pearson's characters and story-telling with my more recent love of Arthurian Legend. Corrie is a complex child whose thoughts are adult enough to be interesting, but not too adult that she is an unbelievable eleven-year-old. The dynamics between the six children was very special - the Bell's have extraordinary sibling relationships.
Pearson generally deals with difficult themes in her writing. A Perfect Gentle Knight contains many different ways people cope with grief, and never did I feel as though the author was simplifying things. This really is one of those books that is perfect for any age - children will sympathize with the children's situation, and teens and adults will be able to read more into the story. It has been a long time since a children's novel has had such an impact on me - in fact, this book may have affected me more than any other "adult" novel I have read this year. show less
It took me a while to figure out the setting, which bothered me a little.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
23+ Works 2,820 Members
Awards and Honors
Awards
Notable Lists
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- A Perfect Gentle Knight
- Original publication date
- 2007
- People/Characters
- Corrie Bell; Sebastian Bell; Meredith Cooper; Orly Bell; Juliet Bell; Harry Bell (show all 9); Roz Bell; Fa Bell; Aunt Madge
- Important places
- Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Children's Books, Kids, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English
- LCC
- PZ7 .P32 .P47 — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 101
- Popularity
- 319,719
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (4.20)
- Languages
- English, French
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 1
