Max travels from town to town with his troubadour uncle, Budrick. This is the middle ages, and travel like this can be dangerous. Max is frustrated with Uncle Budrick, as he is a poor business man, and consistently loses focus on what he's doing. Max is bored, and wants nothing to do with this troubadour business. Max wants to be a knight! They approach a town called Byjovia, which Max finds out is Uncle Budrick's hometown, and was once in knight school there. This amazes Max, as Uncle Budrick is such a wuss...the reason he is now a troubadour. Lo and behold, as they travel to Byjovia they are threatened by a robber. While Uncle Budrick freaks out, Max hits him in the head with a rock. It's lights out for the robber, and Max takes his knife. As they approach Byjovia, Uncle Budrick talks of Byjovia's kind king, King Conrad. When they get to the city gates, they notice that people are cold and mean. They find out King Conrad has died, and has been replaced with his scalawag brother, Gastley. King Gastley's cruelty has rubbed off on his subjects, making Byjovia an unwelcoming place. Max can't put up with this, and speaks up to the King. King Gastley takes Max, but Uncle Budrick pleads mercy and offers himself. King Gastley takes Uncle Budrick captive as his personal troubadour. And so the adventure starts, how will Max save Uncle Budrick?
Max & the Midknights is half graphic, and half text...well, maybe a little more graphic than text. It is a fun romp with puns and jokes galore. It's a simple story, and while somewhat predictable, who cares? It's what we look for in a story like this! While fun, there is a strong agenda here in gender equity, family, and friendship. Ideal for upper elementary and middle school.
Marks Book Pics Score: 3.5
Reading Level: 3.0 • Interest Level: 3-6 • AR Points: NA • Lexile: NA
Publisher: Crown Publishers • 279 Pages • Copyright: 2019 • ISBN: 978-1-10-193108-0 • Available in Perma-Bound binding.
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