By: Sid Fleischman Publisher: HarperTrophy Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: HarperTrophy Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 112 Publication Date: April 01, 2003 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Release Date: April 15, 2003
Jemmy, once a poor boy living on the streets, now lives in a castle. As the whipping boy, he bears the punishment when Prince Brat misbehaves, for it is forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. The two boys have nothing in common and even less reason to like one another. But when they find themselves taken hostage after running away, they are left with no choice but to trust each other.
Amazon.com Review: For kids to get their dose of action and thrills, they need not always go to the local multiplex for the latest bang 'em up film. They could try such books as The Whipping Boy, which relies not on exploding spaceships and demonic robots but mythic story, humorous characters and, ready or not, a moral. The plot involves the orphan Jemmy, who must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat. Jemmy plans to flee this arrangement until Prince Brat beats him to it, and takes Jemmy along. Jemmy then hears he's charged with the Prince's abduction as this Newbery Medal winning book turns toward a surprising close.
It was okay... Admittedly, I'm not part of the target audience it was written for. But I just think that it could have used a little more character development and the plot could have been refined a little. Also, I felt that the ending was a little too abrupt. But overall, it was not a bad read. There were some very interesting points in it.
A really good book This book certainly deserved the Newberry Medal. Its a good and interesting story. One that is harsh at first but has a moral in the end.
Whipping never was so pleasant Sometimes I have a couple of minutes that I have nothing to do. This happens rarely. Usually it's because I'm waiting on something else, or I have something to do but it would take more time than I have at that moment. Last week, I had one of those moments where, for a couple of minutes, I had nothing to do. I sure hate to waste those moments, so I saw a book that my wife and I had picked up at a community center for free, and I started to peruse it. The book, as you might imagine, was The Whipping Boy, and the effect was that, after picking it up, I had to search very hard for more free moments so that I could finish the book. I don't know that I would call the book a page turner, but I can say that I was very impressed by it. The Whipping Boy is a young adult novel, but it is written cleverly and uniquely, and while it resembles a lot of good literature, it is a style and a story all its own. Several times in the story I thought I knew what to expect, and in the end, it does turn out that way, but Fleischman does a good job of taking a non-traditional path to get there. He also shows a good understanding for the language and culture of the setting he presents, but he knows how to not bog down the reader into those things either (essential, I think, for a young adult novel). All in all, the story holds up well on its own, fills up the pages nicely, and wraps up appropriately. Maybe I should find another Fleischman story to carry with me in case I stumble across another couple minutes where I have nothing to do.
Excellent Book This was purchased for my son. He says that it is a great book, and he enjoys it alot!
The Whipping Boy This title was on a Summer Reading List. It was a great, quick read for my son. He is in 6th grade. It kept his interest, he understood it, and he didn't get bored away from reading it. Boys his age were characters in the story.
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