Outlaws of Ravenhurst
Recommended. Age: 11+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
This is a boy's adventure with the Mass at its center. Young Gordon is offered land, title and safety in exchange for his faith, and he will not sell it. Castles, secret passages and sword fights carry a real lesson about the price our ancestors paid. The reservation is the violence. A priest is killed at the altar, the chalice is overturned, and the boy is whipped and starved. All of it is shown as evil.
For parents
Read aloud from 9. Independent reading from 11. Sensitive children should know that a priest is killed at Mass and the boy is whipped. Ask what Gordon was offered and why he said no. Ask what your family would have to give up to get to Mass if it were against the law.