Child of the May

Forestwife Saga #2

by Theresa Tomlinson

When Magda was just a baby, her mother was murdered, and her father John brought her to live in the woods with the Forestwife. Here she learned to heal sick people and became skillful in archery and fighting. Now Magda wants a life of adventure beyond the forest. When word comes that Lady Matilda and her daughter Isabelle are being held captive by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, Magda is ready. This is the chance of a lifetime to join forces with her father John, and the mysterious Robin Hood and his band of outlaws. Little does Magda know that this is also a chance to come face to face with the scoundrel who murdered her mother.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Fantasy, British Literature, Medieval, Historical

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Though I was born in the South of England - my parents moved back to the North when I was one year old, and I have lived in Yorkshire ever since. I spent a few years as an infant teacher, but when my children were young I started making picture books for them and became hooked on writing. I love drawing and painting, but my main love is writing, often using the legends and history around me as inspiration.

Reviews

[Lanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

So . . . this story "Child of May" is the sequel to "The Forestwife", a retelling of my most favorite story of all time, Robin Hood. :) sadly, this was a HUGE step down from the first book. now as I said in book one's review, I love the idea of all the women making their own way in the world and not just sitting off in a corner somewhere waiting to be rescued. in this Robin Hood trilogy, the gals know how to get shit done.

but I am sorry (well . . . not sorry enough to not write it.) but having a feminist edge to the story can't make up for a crappy main character. it barely gets any points for doing a "second generation" of merry men/women. it just doesn't work if your character is so unlikable that it makes me take three or four days to read a 144 page book. >:C

first off, my main beef here is our main character Magda, the daughter of little john. she's a whining, moaning, bitching brat! oh my god, I just wanted to slap the crap right out of her every time she opened her big mouth. I mean, really! she is being raised by the forestwife for Christ's sake! she's probably going to be the next blasted forestwife! and if someone is going to be healing sick and injured forest folk, you'd want them to be a little bit more sympathetic, wouldn't you? and wearing pants and being able to fight does not make a strong female lead. not on its own. especially if bitchy pettiness gets in the way.

And her motivation! no. just, freakin' no! the whole "I want adventure, I want to see the world" thing has been beaten to death. it's over used, and I can't bring myself to give a damn about the character if their motivation for going off to help robin hood was feeling trapped and sheltered.
in a fictional Robin Hood story, (and any story really) the characters NEED to have a GOOD REASON for wanting to fight against injustice and corruption.

not that there was ever much fighting. even when there was a fight scene we didn't get to see it because we're trapped in Magda's whiny skull. or if we did see it, the descriptions were so lacking that it's barely worth me complaining about. Sad isn't it?

(you want a decent battle scene, read the outlaw chronicles by angus Donald. I've only read the first two books of that series, but I think it's tied with another book for my all time FAVORITE Hood story.)

seriously, the descriptions weren't all that great to begin with, but "child of may" was just painful. the story over all could use some work, I thought. I liked that some bits of the original stories were thrown in, like Robin dressing up and tricking the sheriff, and Alan was in this story. (not a lot but he was there.) but it just left so much too be desired the big exciting part at the end of the book, the climax was just . . . .meh.

and last but not least, Marian. . . . . ugh. in the first book, she and Robin decide that while they love each other and want to be together they can't. because they bother have important jobs to do, different ways to help the people. but they'll still be good friends. and lovers I think, but I don't think it ever says that specifically. and I'm fine wit that. it's the right thing for them to do here. putting the greater good above their own desires. something I honestly don't think I could do, so I totally admire it I a character.

so okay Marian then, you decided this 15 fucking years before "child of may" even started. you knew that Robin was rash and unpredictable and always goes running off like a started rabbit. why the fuck are you constantly moping about something you can't freakin' change, huh? just deal with it and be happy that the man always comes back to you when he can. he's got bigger shit to worry about than asking your permission to help people. >:C after all the stuff in book one about not needing to be tied to a man, you sure are clingy.

[Liss Carmody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. This sequel I've read once before, and I didn't remember being impressed, but a reread solidified that opinion for me. It follows on after Tomlinson's The Forestwife only fifteenish years in the future, and focuses on John and Emma's daughter Magda as the youthful main character, since Marian is now in her mid-thirties and far too old to appeal to a YA audience, I guess. Unfortunately, Magda is not very well-developed nor likable as a character - while Marian spent The Forestwife developing her confidence and wisdom from the years of fifteen to eighteen or twenty, and her initial ignorance as a manor-raised natural child is quickly replaced, Magda has been raised in the Forestwife's hidden clearing, which means everything about living as an outlaw in the forest already comes naturally to her and she has all the petulance and none of the humility of a teenager who is able to recognize they have growing to do. She also (unenviably) occupies the spot of John's beloved only child, so her adventures are characterized mainly by this dynamic of overprotectiveness on his (and sometimes Marian's) part and Magda's rebelliousness against that.

All that is an unfortunate enough footing to begin on, but the story is further marred by failing to maintain certain thematic and tonal choices from the first novel, instead veering into more conventional and therefore more unsatisfying story ruts. Magda has a potential love interest, and this relationship is utterly disappointing because it's poorly developed and seems to have little to do with either character's personality aside from their proximity and being roughly in the appropriate age ranges to be paired off. The elegant balance between pagan-esque rites and the formal role of the church that I enjoyed previously has devolved into a much more unnuanced portrayal that heavily romanticizes the pagan elements (I can't say how accurately) and seems to conflate organized religion with the rest of law and order (which are obviously bad, in an outlaws-living-in-the-forest novel) in a disappointing way. Mother Veronica, the independent abbess with a deep but non-sexual or non-romantic attachment to Brother James in the first novel, somehow morphs into an abbess with a lifelong courtly love attachment to a previously-unmentioned leprous knight, both of whom have decided to devote their lives to God rather than marry each other, yet are still in love. Tomlinson continues her focus on telling stories about strong medieval women, but altogether this book just doesn't succeed as well as the previous. In large part I think much of the lack is that neither Marian nor Eleanor is well placed to fill the enormous role left empty by Agnes in the heart of the story.

Also, this is a petty quibble, but the title and its use within the story are essentially meaningless, and that annoys me. It's a throwaway mention and has no business being the title of this book.

Alas.

I'm going to read the final book in the series, because I didn't even know it existed until last month and had an out-of-print copy shipped specially from the UK in order to find out what's in it, but yeah. It's interesting hearing what happens to the characters in the future, but otherwise this book, and probably the next one unless I miss my guess, is a pass.

[PrettyFlamingo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of history and fiction, this is a rather interesting take on the Robin Hood legend with emphasis on other people in the mix. Magda is the 15 year old daughter of Little John and his wife Emma, who was killed when Magda was a baby. She has grown up with Marian, the Forestwife, but has always wanted to avenge her mother’s death, and at the same time prove herself to be as able and competent as any boy.

When Robin and his men embark on a mission to rescue a noblewoman and her daughter from FitzRanulf’s clutches, Magda sees her chance for adventures outside the forest and an opportunity to even the score on behalf of her mother. Through this, she puts herself and others in danger but she does grow and develop as a character, which is a positive thing as she starts off as petulant and annoying. There is also just the right touch of romance and appropriately enough, I read this book on May Day so was very interested to read about the forest’s May celebrations.

I’ve always been fascinated by Robin Hood from being a child, and was intrigued to read this not only because I have read the first Forestwife book, but have also read in detail about Matilda de Braose and her family – and their tragic end – who feature in a subplot. It was emotional for me reading about the attempt to rescue her too, when all the time I knew how the story ends. I enjoyed it and think it is a good addition to the Forestwife series though I thought the cover design was very amateurish and the book deserved better.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oddly enough, Child of the May seems more closely related to the Robin Hood ballads than the first book, The Forestwife -- at least, I recognised the influence of Robin Hood and the Potter, and a couple of others, as I was reading it. I didn't like it as much as the first book, though. It's less realistic in details, and Magda isn't really a very interesting character -- whiny and very immature.

I liked the plot-thread of Alan the boy with leprosy. That was interesting, and yet not much was really done with him.

This book can definitely only really exist within a trilogy. It's nothing really special or groundbreaking, and I just didn't really find it interesting. It's short and easy to read, and probably would appeal to young teenage girls, but it's not very satisfying, really.

[Lupinus Texensis · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not like Tomlinson laid a total egg here. But Magda is pretty weak sauce compared to Marian. I wish these had progressed more like the Alana books, with the main character growing up and growing into her vocation.

That said, it is DELIGHTFUL to read Robin Hood retellings where the female characters go beyond "feisty" Maid Marians and damsels in distress. These books will please anyone who enjoys J Fiction and/or Robin Hood miscellany.

[Lu Carini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Child of the May returns to the familiar setting of The Forestwife, but instead of feeling comforting, the repetition becomes limiting. We spend most of the novel once again in the glade and in Lagden, with very little sense of expansion or discovery. As a second book, it doesn’t add much to the world we already know.

Several characters die off-screen, which leaves a strangely muted, bittersweet feeling rather than real emotional impact. The new female lead, Magda — daughter of Emma and John — is almost unbearable throughout. Meanwhile, Marian and Robert are largely sidelined; Robert, in particular, is barely present at all.

Although the plot aims for a larger scope than The Forestwife, with bigger conflicts and more threatening villains, it ultimately falls flat. The prose lacks the magic and poetry that made the first book so compelling, and the sense of wonder is notably absent. The most interesting element is the theme of the Knights of Lazarus, but even this remains underdeveloped and underused.

Overall, this was a disappointing follow-up. I’ll continue on to the third book in hopes that the series regains the depth and spark of its beginning.

[Cait Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's very much a book series for tweens, but I loved a different take on Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

[Sofia Fresia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho sempre amato i romanzi ambientati in epoca medievale, quindi anche se questo non emerge né per trama, né per personaggi o originalità mi è piaciuto lo stesso. Anni fa avevo adorato il primo libro della trilogia, "La donna della foresta", di cui questo è il seguito. Si tratta indubbiamente di un romanzo per ragazzi, per questo mi sento un po' fuori target...ma la collana junior gaia ha accompagnato la mia scoperta del mondo della lettura e probabilmente sono un po' di parte quando si tratta di esprimere un'opinione su uno dei tantissimi libri che la compongono. Di certo non mi ha entusiasmato ne' coinvolto al pari de "La donna della foresta", ma lo sapevo già dall'inizio e non sono rimasta delusa. È' stato bello rilassarsi con una lettura piacevole, breve e non impegnata in questi ultimi giorni del 2015, sulla quale non mi sono soffermata a pensare alle incongruenze storiche o all'impossibilita' di un effettivo riscontro nella realtà delle azioni dei protagonisti. Peccato che come al solito anche questa mini serie non vedrà mai la pubblicazione dell'ultimo volume qui in Italia -.-

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magda, the daughter of Little John and Emma (deceased) has grown up in Barnsdale Forest under the care of Marian, the Forestwife. At 15, she grows restless and longs to experience life outside the forest. She gets her chance when John & Marian allow her to accompany Robin & the Merry Men on a quest to rescue the noblewoman Matilda and her daughter Isabel. They have both been imprisoned by the sheriff until Matilda agrees to allow Isabel to marry FitzRanulf, the sheriff's bloodthirsty mercenary chief. At first stubborn and petulant, Magda grows a lot as a character as the book progresses. She learns that life outside the forest isn't as fun and glamorous as she thought. This was a short and easy to read book- about the level of 10-13 year olds or so. But I enjoyed it as a fun adventure, as well as a story with depth and historical realism. I think older teens and adults who like Robin Hood legends and stories set in the Middle Ages would like it.

[Liana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooooohhh! Lotsa cool things happen in this book! There's lotsa bad people and action, a poor boy suffers with leprosy and Magda flips out about it, and poor Marian feels neglected by Robert. CAN'T SAY I BLAME HER. *Sobs*

My favorite part was when the girls saved Isabel from her terrible imprisonment. That poor lady! I couldn't imagine being in her shoes! Seriously, all the mean people in this story are MEANNNN! I'm glad that the ending had a sweet happy touch to it though, just like the first book.~

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book started out very slowly and the main character, Magda, is very unlikable (selfish and whinny), about mid way through the book we get back into what made Forestwife so enjoyable. The struggle of the forest folk against the king. Definitely picked up the pace and regained the emotional connection that the beginning of the book had not supplied for me. I am looking forward to finding and reading the last book in this trilogy.

[Min Wen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like the main character of Book 2 of the Forestwife Saga during my first read through because I thought she was a whiny, selfish brat. Reading this a second time around, she still would not beat out Marian as my favourite character of the series, but I realise that Magda is really a typical teenage girl, who has mostly good intentions, but can be a bit self-centered and whiny. I don't think I would behave much differently when I was her age and in her situation.

[Kellyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Magda, the only child of Little John, has lived in the forest all of her life, about 15 years, under the care of Marion. Child of the May recreates the world of medieval England and the life of the forest people. Magda helps her father and Robin rescue several people and she learns about her own strength and heart as well.

This is a very exciting adventure story.

[Elyse · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was wonderful to return to the world of The Forestwife. While I would have prefered more of Marian (though, I enjoyed getting to see her interact with her mother), Magda was still likeable and her story satisfying. Tomlinson again does a great job of presenting realistic problems to our little band of heroes.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, Tomlinson creates strong women and makes them a driving force in the Green Man/Green Woman folkways. Little John's daughter, a child of the May, is now fifteen years old and ready to leave the forestwife's realm for more intense experience out in the larger world. She proves her mettle, and discovers how grounded she is in the forest beyond the pale.

[Gia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it to bold to say that Theresa Tomlinson's work has shaped the woman you see today? The strength and strong willed characters she writes of have truly inspired me since I was a teenager. An amazing book!

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second in the series about Maid Marian and Robin Hood. ANother excellent read.

[Gena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sobbed quite a bit.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only reason I liked this book is because of the original characters having a great presence in this book. I didn't really like Magda, she was too whiny for me. Still, I like this series a lot.