Will Scarlet is on the run.
Once the sheltered son of nobility, Will has become an exile. While his father, Lord Shackley, has been on the Crusades with King Richard, a treacherous plot to unseat Richard has swept across England, and Shackley House has fallen.
Will flees the only home he's ever known into neighboring Sherwood Forest, where he joins the elusive gang of bandits known as the Merry Men. Among them are Gilbert, their cruel leader; a giant named John Little; a drunkard named Rob; and Much, an orphan girl disguised as a bandit boy.
This is the story of how a band of misfit outlaws become heroes of legend - thanks to one brave 13-year-old boy.
- Used Book in Good Condition
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
A fun Robin Hood retelling
By Ashley Ferguson
I always love finding a Robin Hood retelling. The story is one that appeals to people of all ages, and most children are brought up with tales of the bandits who rob from the rich and give to the poor. I especially love when the stories focus on one or two of the Merry Men instead of directly on Robin. This book focuses mostly on Will and Much, and takes these well known and beloved characters and reinvents them.Will Scarlet, formally known as Will Shackley, is the heir to his father's estate. He is in training to become a lord, and has had to grow up more quickly than most boys because his father is away fighting in King Richard's war. Much, the miller's "son," is actually the miller's daughter and in hiding with the Merry Men in Sherwood forest. Eventually, their paths cross and so begins their adventure. Many other popular characters are also present, including Robin, John Little, Guy of Gisbourne, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Prince John.I've read a book where Will is actually a girl in disguise, so it was interesting to see Much as the girl pretending to be a boy. Although Will believes Much is a boy, there is definitely a certain connection between them that neither shares with any of the other Merry Men. I'm glad that the romance aspect wasn't played up too much though and is just mentioned in passing since they're only 13 and 14. There's no need to force a romance between two children who have just entered their teen years. I love how protective they are of each other though, and I really liked how they kept each others secrets without having a real need to. Their chemistry is great, and it was refreshing to read about two kids who develop a friendship slowly and in spite of their differences.This book took me a little while to get in to, mostly because of all the setup in the beginning. The first section is all about Will and gives his background (or at least the parts of it leading up to his need to flee). It is a little slow, but most of the information ends up being necessary to either Will's development or to the plot so it ends up being alright if you can get through it. After we meet the Merry Men, things pick up and the book goes by much more quickly.This was definitely a very easy read, and probably way below my reading level, but I think it would be an excellent book for kids who are around the same age as Will and Much. They would be able to relate to them in ways that an older audience really can't, and it's written so that a younger crowd could read and understand what was going on. I wouldn't recommend this for kids much younger than 13 or so though, since there is a lot of fighting, some death, and Rob is a drunkard. I would also recommend this to anyone who is looking for a nice, quick Robin Hood story with new and old characters, and new twists on old favorites. I really enjoyed this retelling, and although I think it's a standalone, I could totally see there being more books in this series! And I would probably read them all. 3/5
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Five Stars for an original retelling of the Robin Hood story, the best I've ever read !
By Heather
Oh wow, this was such a great novel! Everyone that has every been evenly slightly interested in Robin Hood must read this novel. It's got a little bit of everything in it so everyone should find something appealing in it. Will Scarlet is actually the young son of Lord Shackley who has been off fighting with King Richard in the Crusades. In his place, Lord Shackley's brother Geoff has been running things and trying to teach Will, a mischievous teen who is more child than grown up, how to be a lord.This is like an historical novel without too many dreary details, but enough to make you feel like you're really there. And Will, he's someone you will love! He's led this sheltered life, protected and pampered from the real world and all of the sudden he is thrust into politics and the real world and he sees the "Real England." He has to leave behind everything and everyone he knew, all the comforts of home and join the Merrymen just to try to survive.This is a character driven novel with two different main characters Will Scarlet and Much the Miller's daughter, who is posing as the Miller's son. It's safer that way. The chapters go back and forth between the two points of view and they blend seamlessly. There is a budding romance between the two and it's sweet and good. Will is a gentleman and just what Much needs.I cannot say what it is about this novel that pulled me in, but I swear I could not put it down. It's very well written, never a dull moment. Someone's life is almost always in peril and the Merrymen seem to take it in stride. It is very interesting to see how the Sheriff of Nottingham becomes who he is and how the Merrymen become bandits that give to the poor and why. Will has to grow up fast and face some ugly truths. But this is one of these books that I have to have a copy for my own shelves. I hope it's going to be a series. The secondary characters where just as interesting as the main characters and it was enchanting, a fairy tale in a way, one we've heard told over and over, but this was completely original.Yes, Will is 13, but remember the time period. Much is only a year older and she is of marrying age. So this isn't a young book. It reads like an ageless book. I just loved it! That's the best I can say about it. I loved it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Will in scarlet, Much in disguise, Rob in his cups - one more Sherwood swerve
By H. Bala
"That's 'cause of the drink. Can't aim an arrow when your hands are shaking. But trust me, he's the stuff legends are made of." As the narrative opens, the man in question - Rob the foul drunkard - is very much far from being the stuff legends are made of. He's not even the central character in this story. That falls to 13-year-old Will Shackley, him what's heir to the aristocratic Shackley Castle and prone to mischief.Perhaps some plot SPOILERS in the following paragraph.Rumors abound that, after two years in the Crusades, King Richard is coming home. Young Will is particularly thrilled since this means that his father will also be coming home. But a plot to dethrone the king is set into motion, and the loyal Shackley Castle falls to treachery, Will's uncle, the regent, murdered. Will Shackley escapes into the forbidding Sherwood Forest where he's taken prisoner by the Merry Men, a pathetic band of outlaws led by the cruel Gilbert of the White Hand. Thru the lure (and the lie) of promised treasure, the Merry Men accompany Will - now "Will Scarlet" - to Shackley Castle, unaware that Will returns not for treasure but for vengeance.End SPOILERS.So I've read a grip of Robin Hood pastiches. At the end of this I'll even drop a few of the ones I like best. As for YA writer Matthew Cody, I'd read POWERLESS - his take on kid superheroes - some months ago and liked it well enough. So I stepped into WILL IN SCARLET with certain expectations - that were met. This is a Robin Hood story but one experienced alternatingly thru young Will's perspective and thru Much the miller's son's perspective. So, yeah, Robin Hood takes a back seat. But, rest easy, even though this is a coming-of-age tale concerning Will and Much, it's also about the transformation of Rob the repulsive wino into something more resembling the dashing English folk hero.But, mostly, this is Will's and Much's story to tell. The chapters before Will gets to Sherwood Forest, in my opinion, tend to drag a bit but it's probably just my impatience to get to the meat of the story. There are key scenes in those chapters that punctuate that which Will is later exposed to: the betrayals, the class tensions, the sheer injustice of the greedy few that govern the starving many. Is this next thing a spoiler? I dunno. But it's Will himself who arrives at the "steal from the rich, give to the poor" philosophy. And, yes, it becomes a rallying point for a certain drunken marksman.And then there's Much the miller's 14-year-old son. Or, rather, Much the miller's disguised daughter. And this one's not a spoiler since we learn this from jump. Honestly, I found Much to be the more interesting character, what with Will's arc being that typical hero's journey. The orphaned Much is fierce when it comes to guarding her secret. She's fierce with pretty much everything else. She's quick on her feet, is adept with a knife, knows her way around a lock pick. She's doggedly independent in a time when women were very much expected to know their place. Yeah, she's my favorite character here.Matthew Cody doesn't sacrifice character growth for pulse-pounding derring-do. We get both instead. Desperate rescues. Secrets unearthed. Unexpected moments of kindness. Seeds of a timeless legend being planted. As you may already suspect, Cody introduces several swerves. Lady Marian is absent but referenced. I've mentioned Much's gender reversal and Rob in his cups. One more peril Will Scarlet encounters in Sherwood Forest is Crooked's Men, a rival band of outlaw.But important - and long familiar - elements are still represented. I think, in whatever Robin Hood iteration, we'll always have that fight against injustice. Here, as Will spends time with the outlaws, we note his awakening to the disparity between the lives led by the entitled and the deprived. I expect this to be an ongoing series, too many things are left open-ended (like what happened to Will's mom and to his castle friends? Will there be a Marian sighting?). WILL IN SCARLET is very much an early days retelling of the Robin Hood mythology. I can't wait for the rest of Matthew Cody's interpretation.And if you even halfway enjoyed this book, I do recommend these other works of pastiche:- Robin McKinley's The Outlaws of Sherwood- Parke Godwin's Sherwood and Robin and the King- R.M. ArceJaeger's Robin: Lady of Legend (The Classic Adventures of the Girl Who Became Robin Hood) (Kindle version)- Angus Donald's Outlaw (the Robin Hood legend as seen thru the eyes of teen Alan Dale)
