The Midwife's Apprentice Paperback – 19 Jun. 2012

I read this after coming late to 'Catherine Called Birdy' by the same author. Having an interest in historical fiction, especially when it chronicles the lives of ordinary people, I absolutely adored this. The writing is totally unsentimental yet deeply moving. It is also wonderfully evocative and does what I want every historical novel to do: it transports me back in time.

I bought this and a few other Karen Cushman books for some research on a project I'm working on. I like how (in this book and in others) she get the historical accuracy in, without it ever getting boring and I certainly learned a lot!. Even if you're an adult, reading her books can certainly teach you a thing or two, and it's clear a lot of research has gone in to her work. I would definitely recommend any of her books for a young person with an interest in history.The great strength of the midwife's apprentice is the main character and how she's learns to trust herself and stand up for herself, starting on a dungheap and ending quite well. Also showing that even though she hasn't had any education, she's smart enough to pull off a big trick on the whole village.

The book arrived quickly. It is interesting to read and very informative about the Middle Ages.Thank you.

My ten-year-old daughter loved it. Stirred up her empathy for the character and gave her a sense of life at the time. Engaging.

I really loved this book. The author had well researched the time period and the characters were human but likable. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because I felt it was too short and would have like to read the rest of the story. I also felt if it had been a little bit longer the author could have let you get to know the characters a little better.However I would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially other student midwives like me. It was so interesting.