Bronze+Bow

The Bronze Bow Written by: Elizabeth George Speares Reviewed by: Jennifer Dillan-JD, 10

The book //The Bronze Bow// tells about Daniel bar Jamin, a Jew fighting for Israel’s freedom. As he sees how his father is crucified by Romans he joins a brutal band. All members have the mission to find more soldiers ready to fight the roman legions. As the story continues the main characters are Daniel bar Jamin, his sister Leah, Joel and Joel’s sister Malthace. There are also tons of secondary characters, e.g. the disciple Simon and Jesus of Nazareth. Joel will, as Daniel, join the anti-Roman group led by Rosh. The story takes place in the holy land of Israel at about 30 A.C.E. The story is an adventure and historical fiction book.

What was fantastic about the book was that it included historical happenings; e.g. the Romans conquering Israel. In addition, the story tells about the freedom of a belief; often Jews were persecuted because of their faith. But the story tells either how mental or physical strength can be very similar. When Daniel bar Jamin saw how Joel’s sister opened the door to their house to a Roman soldier, he was totally uncontrolled. He was even kind of in a trance.

I would personally recommend the book to 11-13 years old because it contains sometimes complicated vocabulary which is necessary to understand. If not, the story is unclear. But too energetic kids shouldn’t read it, because often brutal, bloody and violent scenes appear.