Jason is being pushed. Pushed by his parents into going to law school, an idea he hates. Pushed by his girlfriend back onto the gymnastics team. It's not like he doesn't have his own ideas about what he wants to do - he does. Jason wants to be an artist, and sometimes he can't resist escaping to the Art Institute, allowing himself to be pulled into the paintings. One afternoon he loses himself in a painting of children in medieval Flanders. the painting is so rich in detail, he can almost smell the town square where the children play. Suddenly, he is smacked in the face by a mud pie-a sixteenth-century mud pie! Jason finds himself in the midst of Pieter Bruegel's playground, surrounded by children who are as frightened by his sudden appearance as he is. There's no time to panic, as he is swept into town to attend the annual May Day hanging of two men and a dirty, scrawny girl. to his surprise, he seizes upon the one chance to save the girl-he marries her! Despite their differences, Jason and Catherine Juliana soon realize how much they need each other. Jason's prep school education has not prepared him to survive wild mastiffs, the plague, or a chicken for dinner that's alive and unplucked. and Cat is being hunted by the evil Duke of Alba and his Council of Blood. In Saving Cat's life a second time, Jason learns what it takes to survive in this dangerous century-and his own.
This book is an extraordinarily well crafted historical teen fantasy/drama. It has excellent plot development, and the main characters are well developed along with the rest of the story. Having previously read a less than glowing review of this book, I did not have the most positive expectations when I was presented this book for consideration by a colleague. I was reading it with an extremely critical viewpoint and wondering when it was going to fall apart. What I got was a story that kept me wondering what the following pages were going to bring, and I was compelled to read on. I found the author's ability to end a chapter in such a way that leaves the reader with questions that can only be answered in the pages that followed exceptional. This book is a page turner, and I couln't wait. I finished this book in one day. I not only own this book, I cherish it. Hattie Clark may not be a household name, but she will get my endorsement for this work. This book is absolutely on my "gift to give" list.
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