Kidnapped
Recommended. Age: 12+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
David is a young man in Scotland whose greedy uncle has him carried off on a ship. He escapes with a bold fighter named Alan, and the two run across the wild Highlands. They argue, forgive each other and stay true friends. It has sword fights and some deaths, and it is good for kids about eleven and up. This is one of the best adventure stories in English, and Catholic educators place it in the middle grades. At its heart is a friendship between two men who disagree about king and country and stay loyal anyway. David is honest and steady. Alan is brave, vain and quick to fight. The fights cost lives, and a boy is killed by a drunken officer early on. We could not source a full content log, so the content cells are blank.
For parents
Read aloud from about ten. Independent reading from twelve or thirteen, because the Scots dialect is thick. A glossary or an audiobook helps. Give a short history first: in 1745 the Highland clans rose for the Stuart prince, lost, and were punished. Ask: why does David stay with Alan when it puts him in danger? What does their quarrel teach about pride, and who says sorry first? Alan gambles away money that is not his. Ask what he owed David afterward. Talk about the roundhouse fight. David kills two men to defend an innocent man and himself, and it troubles him. That is a good place to teach that defending life can be right and that every death is still grave. Note the uncle's greed and what it does to him. Warn sensitive readers about the cabin boy's death and the shooting of Colin Campbell. David is a Presbyterian and prays as one. The faith in the book is sincere and is not Catholic.