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The Casting
350 A.D. Ireland Twelve-year-old Robyn must decide her future at the coming of age ceremony, but choosing the right path is a challenge. Most girls in Robyn's village will choose traditional roles of healing, midwifery or farming. Others will choose to be warriors or go into Brehon law. None of these choices appeal to Robyn. Instead, she yearns for the red-hot crucibles full of molten bronze and the roaring fire of her father's foundry. But her future brother-in-law, Gilhey, her most ardent challenger at the foundry, has other plans. Will Robyn find the courage to stand up to Gilhey and become the bronze caster she longs to be?
212 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 6, 2023
[I received my copy of this book for free through Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.]
I enjoyed this book very much. I really liked how the main character, Robyn, was portrayed. Robyn's desire to do something different than what her culture usually dictated wasn't so much a result of a plucky, "in-your-face" attitude that so many heroines are portrayed with, but rather a deep admiration of her father; so many girls embraced their mother's profession, why not her father's? Casting was as much in her blood as healing. The story was well written and very exciting. I particularly liked the relationship between Robyn and her sister. It reminded me of a more family friendly parallel of Sansa and Arya from A Song of Ice and Fire, which I personally found to be very interesting.
The only reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt it could have been fleshed out a little more. It's just over 200 pages, which doesn't allow much room to explore many of the village customs, and despite information on the book cover stating the year is 350 AD, the storyline seems like it could come from any village prior to the industrial revolution. It also would have been nice to have just a little bit more back story on the villains; the story tells enough, but here and there they seemed a little two-dimensional. They were good villains overall, I just thought there could have been a little more. So, a 40 or 50 pages could have lent a lot to the book, while still not making it too long for young readers.
Overall, it was a great read, albeit a short one. Definitely recommended.
I enjoyed this book very much. I really liked how the main character, Robyn, was portrayed. Robyn's desire to do something different than what her culture usually dictated wasn't so much a result of a plucky, "in-your-face" attitude that so many heroines are portrayed with, but rather a deep admiration of her father; so many girls embraced their mother's profession, why not her father's? Casting was as much in her blood as healing. The story was well written and very exciting. I particularly liked the relationship between Robyn and her sister. It reminded me of a more family friendly parallel of Sansa and Arya from A Song of Ice and Fire, which I personally found to be very interesting.
The only reason I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5 is because I felt it could have been fleshed out a little more. It's just over 200 pages, which doesn't allow much room to explore many of the village customs, and despite information on the book cover stating the year is 350 AD, the storyline seems like it could come from any village prior to the industrial revolution. It also would have been nice to have just a little bit more back story on the villains; the story tells enough, but here and there they seemed a little two-dimensional. They were good villains overall, I just thought there could have been a little more. So, a 40 or 50 pages could have lent a lot to the book, while still not making it too long for young readers.
Overall, it was a great read, albeit a short one. Definitely recommended.
April 24, 2012
The Casting is set in 350 A.D. and tells the story of Robyn, a young girl who wants to become a bronze caster. Robyn is the youngest daughter of Felic the Master Caster. The book opens as Robyn struggles with telling her family that she wants to follow in her father's footsteps and take over the family foundry. In order to reach her goal Robyn faces resistance from her older sister and the foundry's lead apprentice Ghiley. Eventually it is up to Robyn to save her family's legacy.
Johnson did an excellent job with character growth and with pacing this story. At its heart this story is about Robyn's struggle to find herself and to fulfill her dreams in spite of what those around her think. Robyn changes from being headstrong and impulsive to responsible and truly courageous. Although Robyn is a likeable character she isn't perfect and it is her flaws that made me love her. I rooted for her every step of the way and wanted her to succeed. The story moves quickly and has a ton of action, each incident leading Robyn closer toward her ultimate goal. For the purposes of full disclosure I was given this book by the author to review and enjoyed every minute I spent reading it.
Johnson did an excellent job with character growth and with pacing this story. At its heart this story is about Robyn's struggle to find herself and to fulfill her dreams in spite of what those around her think. Robyn changes from being headstrong and impulsive to responsible and truly courageous. Although Robyn is a likeable character she isn't perfect and it is her flaws that made me love her. I rooted for her every step of the way and wanted her to succeed. The story moves quickly and has a ton of action, each incident leading Robyn closer toward her ultimate goal. For the purposes of full disclosure I was given this book by the author to review and enjoyed every minute I spent reading it.
July 3, 2012
In the interest of full disclosure, I won a soft-cover review copy of The Casting from Pugalicious Press. Knowing nothing about the plot, I saw the cover and thought it would be a story about a witches' coven. Wrong! So wrong. Casting refers to working with bronze. But you know what? This book sure did work its spell on me!
Not only did the author Joyce Shor Johnson apply a Herculean effort in capturing the atmosphere and details of 4th century Ireland in The Casting, she wrapped those details around a fast-paced adventure and a strong female protagonist. It has enough adventure, action, and character development to appeal to both girls and boys. Adults, listen up – this is a quick read and explores powerful themes that will have you and your kids talking. The story does include some violence and vague sexually suggestive dialogue. If movie ratings transferred to books, I’d place The Casting at PG/PG-13.
Many thanks to Pugalicious Press for the review copy. Now, if I can just win a ticket to Ireland to explore all these historic sites... :)
Not only did the author Joyce Shor Johnson apply a Herculean effort in capturing the atmosphere and details of 4th century Ireland in The Casting, she wrapped those details around a fast-paced adventure and a strong female protagonist. It has enough adventure, action, and character development to appeal to both girls and boys. Adults, listen up – this is a quick read and explores powerful themes that will have you and your kids talking. The story does include some violence and vague sexually suggestive dialogue. If movie ratings transferred to books, I’d place The Casting at PG/PG-13.
Many thanks to Pugalicious Press for the review copy. Now, if I can just win a ticket to Ireland to explore all these historic sites... :)
August 2, 2012
I love to read books, all kinds of books. But what I really love is when the author allows bad things to happen to the main character and we’re there to witness the heartache and the growth.
Robyn wants nothing more than to be a bronze caster, like her father. But most girls choose to be a healer, like her sister. Robyn musters the courage to ask and her dad says yes. But the road isn’t easy. There is Gilhey, her sister’s mate who is an apprentice and wants to take over too. And then, Robyn didn’t quite understand how hard the task would be.
But when someone is playing dirty, Robyn must figure out how to fight back! Especially when her very life is threatened.
What I loved the most was the lyrical prose and imagery of the red hot crucibles and melting bronze. Robyn’s journey is wrought with mistakes, misgivings and treachery. But I loved every word of it.
Robyn wants nothing more than to be a bronze caster, like her father. But most girls choose to be a healer, like her sister. Robyn musters the courage to ask and her dad says yes. But the road isn’t easy. There is Gilhey, her sister’s mate who is an apprentice and wants to take over too. And then, Robyn didn’t quite understand how hard the task would be.
But when someone is playing dirty, Robyn must figure out how to fight back! Especially when her very life is threatened.
What I loved the most was the lyrical prose and imagery of the red hot crucibles and melting bronze. Robyn’s journey is wrought with mistakes, misgivings and treachery. But I loved every word of it.
July 5, 2012
I love reading books where I learn something! Well researched, with a lovely and sympathetic main character, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves middle grade books and/or historical fiction.
April 30, 2012
I was able to read this as an ARC. I loved it. Great adventure and I love the setting.
May 7, 2012
I am a bit confused about who this book is aimed at. The plot was simple but enjoyable and the writing of some of the characters was surprsingly subtle. However the book was very short, 160 pages and the text was double-spaced throughout the book, making me wonder if the author was writing for older children. I honestly could have read the entire book in a matter of an hour or two. I think if I was a reader from the target audience I might have rated it as 4-stars, but instead my 3-star rating reflects where it fits amongst my other books.
I generally do not enjoy first person dialogue, so I struggle to enjoy the book at first. There was a lot of dialoge and I found myself mentally rewriting some of the unnessecary dialogue out. I think a bit more of it could have been told rather than spoken, especially in the opening four to five chapters.
I was impressed with the way she wrote her characters. They had a great deal of depth and she didn't give the reader all the answers. I am believing it was intentional.
For example, I liked the way the character Gilhey was introduced to us by the protaganist. The protaganist clearly disliked him and believed him to be a bad person. The protaganist offered no proof, allowing the reader to have some doubt. Later when we get our first glimpse of Gilhey we do see he does not like her, but we also see the she behaves in a childish antagonistic manner toward him, perhaps deserving his distain. I was impressed that the author gave me room to think that the protagonist was wrong about him. [I was about 35% of the way through the book when I wrote those notes and at that point was not entirely sure about him... I like that the author has allowed me room to wonder.]
The story itself was intricate enough to have me guessing and doubting at various points during the book. I am not actually convinced that the author intended this, but I like to believe she did.
One thing I did not like was that it was set in Ireland 350 AD... I think the time and place was not needed. Likewise I think the glossary of words at the back was a bit of an insult to the reader, especially in a world where Google is at our fingertips. I enjoyed reading her strange phrases and figuring out what they meant by the context that they were used in. Those are little things though.
Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and I would recommend it to any older children/young teenagers who were interested in historical fiction.
I received this book as an ARC from the goodreads program.
I generally do not enjoy first person dialogue, so I struggle to enjoy the book at first. There was a lot of dialoge and I found myself mentally rewriting some of the unnessecary dialogue out. I think a bit more of it could have been told rather than spoken, especially in the opening four to five chapters.
I was impressed with the way she wrote her characters. They had a great deal of depth and she didn't give the reader all the answers. I am believing it was intentional.
For example, I liked the way the character Gilhey was introduced to us by the protaganist. The protaganist clearly disliked him and believed him to be a bad person. The protaganist offered no proof, allowing the reader to have some doubt. Later when we get our first glimpse of Gilhey we do see he does not like her, but we also see the she behaves in a childish antagonistic manner toward him, perhaps deserving his distain. I was impressed that the author gave me room to think that the protagonist was wrong about him. [I was about 35% of the way through the book when I wrote those notes and at that point was not entirely sure about him... I like that the author has allowed me room to wonder.]
The story itself was intricate enough to have me guessing and doubting at various points during the book. I am not actually convinced that the author intended this, but I like to believe she did.
One thing I did not like was that it was set in Ireland 350 AD... I think the time and place was not needed. Likewise I think the glossary of words at the back was a bit of an insult to the reader, especially in a world where Google is at our fingertips. I enjoyed reading her strange phrases and figuring out what they meant by the context that they were used in. Those are little things though.
Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read and I would recommend it to any older children/young teenagers who were interested in historical fiction.
I received this book as an ARC from the goodreads program.
January 1, 2013
It was way too short and had this weirdly double spaced text (I'm guessing this was to make it appear longer?). The affect made me feel like I was reading a rough draft. But really, really good story. Thoroughly researched, complex characters, and engaging plot. It could have been so much better though if things were just fleshed out a little more. More description, more back story, more. . . everything. Like I said, this felt (and looked) like a double-spaced rough draft of a story with excellent potential.
May 28, 2012
Amazing book! Left the reader at a cliff hanger at the end......Hoping for a sequel! The setting made it even more understandable!
August 14, 2012
I have no problems with it, it was a pleasant read.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews