A Circle of Silver

by Maxine Trottier

It is 1760, and Lord MacNeil decides that the way to make a man of his 13-year-old son, John, is to bring him along from England to Canada. He knows that John, with his expert drawing skills, will make an excellent cartographer of Canada's wilderness; an activity that will keep him away from the dangers of war. On the eve of John's departure, his beloved twin sister, Jane, gives him her treasured silver ring. As John wears this circle of silver, it becomes the link to everything he his homeland, the frontier, and his newly-made friends - especially the intriguing Marie Roy. Set against a backdrop of tradition, growing unrest, and the looming danger of Pontiac's Rebellion, John's experiences in a young Canada do indeed carry him toward manhood. The first in a trilogy, A Circle of Silver brings history, memory, and hope together in a seamless adventure of discovery.

Genres: Historical Fiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Maxine Trottier is the award-winning writer of numerous books for young people, including Claire's Gift (winner of the Mr. Christie's Book Award), Laura: A Childhood Tale of Laura Secord, the Circle of Silver Chronicles, and The Tiny Kite of Eddy Wing (winner of the CLA Book of the Year Award).

A former teacher and an avid sailor, Maxine has long been fascinated by history. She is now an associate member of La Société des Filles du roi et soldats du Carignan, whose purpose is "to honour the memory of these courageous people." While researching Alone in an Untamed Land, Maxine discovered that she herself is directly descended from a fille du roi.

Maxine lives in the small outport of Newman's Cove in Newfoundland, with her husband William and their Yorkie Moon.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have several reasons why you should NOT read The Circle of Silver by Maxine Trottier.

Firstly I did not like the Circle Of Silver because when John goes exploring to Canada all he does is describes different boats the whole book almost. The reason why I didn't like it was I am not into boats. If you are then this is the book for you. Out of the 4 people in my book club, group none of us liked it. Even the teacher did not. The beginning and end of the book were dynamic but the middle was very boring.John was an artist sent to Canada to draw it. Along the way he meets Maria and then the story line gets better. I would say the best part of the book was Maria.

Secondly,the end of the book leaves you with barely anything to think about. When we write stories or read books we leave the reader with something to think about. The book was very bland and needed more transitional and descriptive words. When John is going to Canada he talks about home and he was in Canada really fast.

Lastly, another addition to this review was I would not pick out this book on the shelf. The cover and the back are the first things you see and they aren't capturing enough. The cover of the book has an old English flag, painting tools and painting. I think you should base some of the book on the title. The first thing that you usually see was the cover and it explains the book without using words.These type of books i'm not into. The type of genre that i do not like is books about ships. I do not find boats or the sea interesting.If Maxine Trottier was more descriptive and wrote less about boats and more about Canada and the scenery or people then it would be better.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was a total waste of time i had to read it for school and it was hell in a book

[Rebecca Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was absolutely terrible. Would not recommend this to anybody because it was the absolute most boring story I have ever had the displeasure of reading.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

After having read reviews and heard from a colleague that this book was boring I had to read it for myself. I was pleasantly surprised. While it is not the most quickly paced book I have ever read I did not find it boring. As it is the first of a trilogy, I wonder what the other two are.

[Dejanet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just don’t understand why so many criticisms of this book. I found it historically accurate, full of adventure, and I genuinely liked the characters. Are readers afraid of bittersweet endings?
I’ve read Newbury winners that weren’t nearly as engaging as this.

[Bobbyphilip · Rating 1 out of 5]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Boring

[David Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a kids/young adult book, this is probably as good as historical fiction gets. I appreciate how it was artful but not sensational.

[Nessy96 · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had a sad ending but that's life.

[Alexi M · Rating 1 out of 5]

*SPOILERS*
This book is definitely not my favourite. To start, this book is very slow with little to no action. Chapters are spent doing one thing. This is shown very well in the first couple chapters when the author has John and his father on a ship for almost 3 chapters. Second, this book has almost no suspense. Almost the entire book is John traveling around Canada with no troubles along the way. When John finally does run into a problem, being captured by Odawa, it is resolved within a couple paragraphs with no real danger. Lastly, this book finishes on a cliffhanger. In the last 2 chapters John is called back to England when he finds out Marie has just died and decides to stay. We don’t get to see his reaction to this news or his reunion with his family.

[KMono · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would not recommend the book A Circle of Silver for several reasons. Firstly, A Circle of Silver is a very slow moving book. Right when the plot starts to escalate the conflict is resolved without a great deal of action. One example of this phenomena was when John was captured by Odawa warriors. After being captured they were taken to a party with Chief Pontiac and then sent on their way. Another flaw I found with this book was that it too reliant on dialogue. All conflict was displayed through argument, while none was shown in the vivid chases and firefights of other books in the historical fiction genre. This belittled the tension that should have been evident in a book of the time period. Lastly, what really set me off from this book was the lack of imagery used. As a book supposedly written during the eighteenth century, I was surprised that it did not include a more in-depth description of the different sights and smells of the new world.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. It does present the history in an age appropriate way for children. If you were forced to teach this subject matter this book would be better than a text book if there was no other option.

There is nothing inappropriate at all in it, but there is also little to hold a young readers attention. I suspect a class of students asked to read this book would remember it as one of the horrible books they were forced to plod through and would remember little of the history it contains.

The whole story feels almost like a summary. Even the most exciting events, John, the protagonist, falling over board during a tornado, being captured by Pontiac's men and taken to meet him are anticlimactic at best. There are many characters, but none are really fleshed out to the point that a reader relates to them or really cares that much. Even when an important character died I thought "Oh that's too bad". It didn't move me in any way.

I found the continued reference to the "wee" boys highly irritating. It was a little too obvious and once the joke had been told it didn't need to be carried on throughout the entire book.

In regard to other reviewers' complaints about the wig, that was one of the few clever pieces of symbolism in this book. John's wig is very clearly representative of his ties to England. In England he chafes under the restrictions placed upon him, but in North America he clings to those same conventions because that is all he has known. As he begins to give up his English style of dress he is becoming part of the new land and growing into a man.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good historical fiction with lots of adventure. Considering for reading aloud to Grade 5 (Canadian history) but a little long for weekly 20 minute readings. Slight criticisms noted in Quill & Quire review don't really bother me as I don't think they would detract from a kid's enjoyment of the book or the historical understanding they would get from it. Good clarification of fact vs fiction in author's note.

Era: 1760-1763, Location(s): England to Canada (Fort Detroit), Themes: coming of age; French/English/First Nations conflict; General Amherst & the smallpox blankets; Pontiac’s confederacy & rebellion.

[Christian James]

A Cirlce of Siver