The+Puppeteers+Apprentice

__The Puppeteer's Apprentice__ Reviewed by Sarah Pierluissi ** Written by D. Anne Love Copyrighted in 2003 __The Puppeteers Apprentice__ begins in a manor house called Dunston Manor. The main character Mouse, worked as a helper to the cook. The cook treated would often strike Mouse if her work did not meet his expectations. Mouse tried to runaway on occasion but had never succeeded. One night Lord and Lady Dunston were having a party and Mouse was told to cook all day for this special dinner. She was not allowed to eat even just a morsel of food from the treats that she made. After the party was finished there were many leftovers and Mouse was tempted to sneak into the dinning room and take some food for feed her growling stomach. She snuck in and grabbed some delights such as meat pies and apple tarts. As she was making her way back to the kitchen where she would wait for cook to come back, she ran into him. Cook was furious and with his strong hand he lifted his staff and struck Mouse across the face. Her hot cheek was burning out of pain and there was blood everywhere. Mouse made a run for it and with cook running after her she succeeded in running away from the horrible manor.As she was walking down the road, which could well be filled with nasty thieves ran into some kind travelers who agreed to take her under their wing. There were three of them, Simon who planned on making his way to London to continue his music playing, Claire who planned on finding work in London and Alice who was a goose woman and also planned on work. Simon was a happy man who sang to brightened people up and told them stories of his adventures. They quickly tended to her wound and the four of them started on their journey. When they finally arrived Alice left them to continue her career as a goose woman. Mouse was sad to hear this but she still had Claire and Simon. Simon bargained their way into a hotel for the night. That night Claire told Mouse that she to would be leaving because a woman offered her a job as a governess to the woman’s children. Mouse could not help but feel lonely and miserable. She awoke and looked for Simon but he was nowhere to be found. Mouse had no money and nowhere to go. She explored London for a while and came upon a puppet show. She watched as the puppets danced and how they told a story. Mouse wanted to make puppets dance too. When the man who made the puppets dance wasn’t looking Mouse climbed into the wagon. She was discovered and asked to leave by the puppeteer but she told him her reason why she was there. He told her that everyone who wanted to make the puppets dance left him and he did not care for another. Mouse guaranteed him that she not the usual student. The puppeteer agreed and they had their first lesson. Mouse was looked through the puppet trunk and accidentally broke the string to one of the puppets. The puppeteer was not happy about this. The story continues and the puppeteer was revealed to be woman. Mouse asked her why she did this and she responded simply that people trusted men more then woman and believed that men knew what they were doing more then woman. They continued to travel together and the puppeteer became more and more fond of Mouse. She agreed that her name did not suit her and during their travels they would find her a name. Mouse did her first show with the puppeteer and it was a success. The puppeteer was so happy for Mouse. They both celebrated the victory with a splendid dinner. Their usual dinner usually consisted of a caught hare and wild berries that Mouse would find. Mouse had met up with Simon again and he came to their wagon to eat with them. He told them of a story that Mouse had heard before, which maybe involved her own puppeteer. She was wondering why the puppeteer was acted so skittish lately. They were eating their dinner one day and two thieves on horses came to them and one of them yelled, “You’re the one that sent me to prison!” This man was named Ordin. He and the puppeteer did not have the best past and now he had come back to kill her. The puppeteer killed the other man on the horse and she was stabbed in the shoulder. Mouse killed Ordin with a burning branch and took his horse and went to find help. She came upon a manor house and slept the night there. When she awoke she was told that the puppeteer was ill and would probably not survive. She was welcomed in that house but she knew she must continue the puppeteer journey. After the puppeteer had died, she mounted the wagon with her puppets and with a new name she set off on her own journey to continue the incredible occupation of her long loss friend. This book is about a young girl finding her true desire, proceeding with it and continuing with it in the years to come. This book was very well written and it exposed the language of the people in the Middle Ages very well. Even though this book is short it has a story of meaning packed into it. I would recommend this book to someone who doesn’t mind finishing a book quickly and for someone who is interested in town life. This book describes the life of someone who traveled the roads stopping only to rest a while and to sleep and eat. It describes what working class people ate, when they don’t have enough money to go out and but food. Someone who is interested in small things such as sewing or building or believing in things would enjoy this book. Mouse talks to her puppets as though they were human. She carves puppets and makes clothes for them to wear. She takes pride in things that some people might take for granted now. This book is an adventure book with love, happiness, sadness and pride all mixed in. Someone who loves to read about many topics in one should read this book. **