The Bent Sword by Stephen Gashler

Title: The Bent Sword

Author: Stephen Gashler

Publisher: Bonneville Books
Acquired: Received free for an honest review

Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 70% C-

Steffin is just an average peasant who has big dreams of becoming a knight and saving the world from the dangerous Lord Bore and his Box of Boredom. Too bad Lord Bore is just a made-up nemesis from Steffin's childhood--or is he?

When a crazy old storyteller insists that Lord Bore is real, Steffin must take things in his own hands and begins a quest that will forever change his destiny. With the help of a few friends, Steffin is soon running away from bad guys, escaping prison, and infiltrating castles to woo princesses, all in the pursuit of adventure. But when his friends grow weary of the journey, Steffin is left to pull them back together in order to defeat Lord Bore before it's too late.

My Thoughts::
This isn't the type of book that I would normally read, which is probably why I took so long to read it. There was always something else to be reading instead. But I can't leave a book sitting on my shelf for too long without feeling guilty, so I decided to give it a chance.

The plot was cute and imaginative, though I did have some problems. I just didn't feel like what was going on was actually happening. I kept waiting to learn that the whole book was a bunch of kids playing pretend. It seemed like the book was a parody of itself. Maybe that was the point? I just did not expect it at all. I thought I was about to read a new kind of fairy tale. It was funny seeing the group getting until every kind of trouble imaginable but always with the highest of hopes.

The adventure was fun though, even after all of the misgivings, it was a happy read. The friends that Steffin encounters along the way were so lovable, and really put Steffin to shame. At points I thought they were better developed or at least had a likeable personality. I really liked Steffin at the beginning and the end, but no thanks to the middle. Once again, that was probably the point. To see Steffin grow and change into a better person. It just didn't feel like he was changing until the very end.

Overall I think that The Bent Sword was a decent read that had some good parts. I'd recommend this book to those who don't feel like reading something serious, and like to be taken to a different time.