Cover Image: The Good Hawk (Shadow Skye, Book One)

The Good Hawk (Shadow Skye, Book One)

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# The Good Hawk (Shadow Skye, Book One)
# by Joseph Elliott

Candlewick Press
### Walker Books US

Candlewick Press
[Historical Fiction
Middle Grade
Pub Date 21 Jan 2020


I am reviewing a copy of The Good Hawk Through Candlewick Press/Walker Books Us and Netgalley:


This journey will transport you to a Mythical Scotland.


Agatha, is a brave and fierce Hawk. She protects her people by patrolling the high walls of their island home, this is a job she is proud of, despite the fact that some in the Clan say it is simply to get her out of the way, due to the condition she was born with.


After disaster strikes and the Clan is kidnapped it is up to Agatha and Jaimie to travel across the haunted mainland of Scotia to Norveg, they get help along the way from a clan of Nomadic bull riders. Many animals are drawn to Agatha’s way of communicating.





Jaimie who is thoughtful, and anxious is an Angler, but he hates the sea. Worse yet he’s been chosen to Mary something his Clan hasn’t required in generations. The elders won’t tell him why they have promised him to a girl in a neighboring clan, but there are rumors of approaching danger.



If you are looking for a thrilling, dark, and rich novel, may I recommend The Good Hawk.


I give The Good Hawk five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

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Unusual story with a feeling of ancient England and demons. Interesting journey and characters. Some violence might be too much for younger middle school readers.

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I felt this story went wrong in a few ways. The character of Agatha clearly has an intellectual disability, yet her actions didn't always feel authentic. Her chapters are told from a first person perspective, and I don't think it is fair to those with intellectual disabilities to write from their POVs.

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Each member of Clann a Tuath is assigned a job upon coming of age. Agatha was given the task of being a Hawk, patrolling the high walls of the town to look out for possible danger; Jaime was made an Angler, fishing in the waters around the island. But Agatha’s fitness for her job as Hawk is questioned because of mistakes she makes, as well as her intellectual disability. In other places, people like her aren’t even given the chance to make it past infancy. Jaime, also, is unique: He has been chosen to marry a girl from another clan, which is very unsettling because marriage is not practiced in Clann a Tuath. But its leaders are hoping the alliance will give added protection to the clan as word travels that danger is on the horizon.

When the worst happens and the deamhain from Norveg kidnap the clan to become their slaves, it’s up to Jaime and Agatha to travel from their home on the Isle of Skye across the mainland of Scotia, which has been mostly uninhabited since a plague swept through it (but rumors swirl of terrors that lurk there), and over to Norveg to somehow rescue their clan. They face their fears and begin to find confidence in their strengths; Agatha, in particular, has a special talent that she’s had to hide within her clan but allows her to help.

Author Joseph Elliott worked with children with learning disabilities, his mother is a “teacher trained in special needs education,” and his parents “provided respite foster care for children with additional needs,” the book’s About the Author section says. Agatha was inspired by such young people, especially those with Down syndrome, and it’s a treat to read a fantasy book whose main character has Down syndrome. The story alternates between the points of view of Agatha and Jaime, so parts are told in Agatha’s words. Having a main character with a disability could be just a gimmick, but Elliott writes well enough and the story works and flows well enough that it doesn’t feel like a device. I have a young adult daughter with Down syndrome myself, and it was lovely to imagine her as Agatha. I enjoyed the story and the characters and appreciated this brave heroine.

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I did not care for the writing in this book. I was interested in the story and if it's available on audiobook I feel that I may have a better enjoyment of the story.

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I really wanted to like this book. I read the first one third of it and gave up. Jaimie and Agatha and Jaimie’s new wife had unbelievably captured an enemy warrior and made it to the mainland, I was done.

The chapters in Agatha’s POV had gone from interesting to irritating, and the whole storyline became ridiculous. This warrior is evil and manipulative, which Jaimie knows, but they follow the man’s instructions anyway. I didn’t need to read the rest of the book to know I wasn’t going to like where it went.

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What a rare gem is THE GOOD HAWK. The two protagonists are unlikely heroes. They know they have face their fears and use any and all gifts they may have to survive in this unique work of Dystopian Fiction.

Agatha has Down Syndrome (in the book there is no official diagnosis, but it is obvious to informed readers.) When was the last time you read a book, or even a short story, where the protagonist is a person with a "DisABILITY?"

Kudos to Author Joseph Elliott for challenging stereotypes and showcasing the fact that people are just people, and that everyone is different and every individual has a variety of things to offer the world.

This book is set in a world that is vaguely medieval and definitely dystopian. Agatha lives with her tribe in an enclave on an island reminiscent of those off the coast of Scotland.  Even though Agatha has been assigned to be a "Hawk", which is an important position in the tribal hierarchy, there are still many people who treat her with contempt and loathing because she is not like everyone else. The author does a terrific job depicting the discrimination Agatha faces on a daily basis.

Jamie is a young man who has recently been told that his permanent profession is to be an Angler. To say he is disappointed is an understatement. He does not like boats and has no interest in catching fish, but he has no choice. He will do what the Elders tell him, just like every other tribe member.

To add insult to injury, Jamie has also been told that he is to be married to a member of another tribe. He is horrified. No one in the tribe is married. They believe marriage is an archaic and unnecessary institution.

When their tribe is threatened, it is up to Agatha and Jamie to save them, but they are only two people, and young people at that. The task in front of them is momentous, it is daunting, and it would be much easier to just give up.

So, what do they do? How do they even begin? You will need to read the book to find out.

The action is unrelenting, and the surprises are many. Agatha turns out to be special in many ways, and Jamie will confront not only physical dangers, he will also meet other people and other tribes and ultimately come to realize that many of the ideas and attitudes he has been taught since childhood are discriminatory. He will have to decide what he believes deep in his heart.

I read this book over a two day period and enjoyed every minute of it. This story will touch readers and will hopefully open their eyes to the fact that just because someone is "different" does not mean they are 'lesser than.'

Yes, there are quite a few lessons to be learned from reading this book, but it is also a fantastic story that grabs the reader's attention from the very first chapter. The characters are brilliantly depicted and the world is one which our world could easily become.

I am excited that the second book in the series is already being written and I will be eagerly awaiting it's publication.

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ARC provided by Candlewick Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Good Hawk by Joseph Elliot is the compelling start to a trilogy set in a mythic Scotland.

It revolves around two members of the Clann a Tuath, set on the island of Skye. Agatha is a Hawk, a sentinel, considered incapable because of her birth condition, and Jaime is an Angler, an anxious teen who isn’t fond of the sea, chosen by the clan’s elders for a long-unneeded ritual. Unexpectedly, the clan is kidnapped by the barbaric deamhain and Jaime and Agatha set up on a tortuous journey to save them.

I’m really looking forward to knowing how this incredible story will continue. I was fascinated by the pace, which kept me biting my nails, and the nuanced characters the author created. I loved every second of it.

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DNF @ 25%

I figured this would be an immersive story with a great atmosphere set in Scotland. By 25% the setting was just starting to pick up but my interest had already waned. I didn't latch onto any characters or care for the plot by a quarter of the way through. The setting and the rules of the land have yet to be explained. The writing style wasn't working for me. The characters seemed well suited for middle grade but the language choice seemed more for young adult. I won't rate the book or publicly review it since it was a DNF.

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OK... where do I start? We follow two characters, Agatha and Jamie. Jamie ( the angler) is a groom of an arranged marriage. Agatha is demoted from her watchman post (the Hawk) due to almost killing Jamie’s Bride boat, thinking it was an enemy ship. The sprinkle of uniqueness within this dark and thrilling story is Agatha has Down syndrome. At first, I wasn’t sure how I would feel based on the way she was treated by some of her clansmen. Agatha is not afraid of anything! She becomes a favorite character that makes impulsive decisions based on her temper. Jamie is cautious, and Agatha can be ruthless when it comes to her best friend, Jamie. Agatha also has a special gift that makes this story action-packed.

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I am clearly not the reader for this book. Despite the variety of five start reviews both here and on Goodreads, I found The Good Hawk to be boring and poorly paced. The world building manages to be both too much and too little at once; with details a plenty but no context which leads to ongoing reader disorientation. I found the characterization of the female MC, who has Down Syndrome, to be unsettling as well and remain fully in the "nothing about us, without us" camp. Other readers, however, have expressed great delight in this text -- it's just not for me.

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So, to put it in simple terms, THE GOOD HAWK is a book that will make you feel things.

(Thank you, you say. That is not helpful.)

It follows the story of Jaime, an anxious boy with a heavy role to play in his clan, and Agatha, a girl with Down Syndrome and an extraordinary gift that enables her to communicate with animals. When their clan is betrayed and captured by enemy forces, they set out together on a rescue mission. But this mission takes them to mainland Scotia, where the people have been all but annihilated by a plague, and limb-ripping shadows haunt the ruins of the land.

I'm not *entirely* certain how I'd classify this book, age-wise. The characters are young teenagers, so I'd say YA, but the plot/writing feels more on par with upper MG, and that's how it's shelved on Netgalley, but ... I don't know, it's one of those books that laughs in the face of your categorical binaries. And I kinda loved that about it. However, I should mention that there are some genuinely gruesome & scary moments in this book (*ahem* limb-ripping shadows) so I'd caution readers at the younger end of the MG spectrum to be aware of this.

Personally, I LOVED this sinister atmosphere. I loved how Elliott didn't shy away from darkness. I keep thinking about Queen Nathara's castle, empty and haunted on the edge of the water, and I still get shivers. It's a great setup for future books, too, since it's obvious Jaime & Agatha haven't even begun to understand the extent of the darkness lurking in Scotia and Ingland. But intertwined with this heaviness was a genuine joy, with some great moment of humour and characters who are impossible not to root for. Agatha has my entire heart. Jaime's chapters felt a little weaker, a little more 'meh' on the enjoyment scale, but I was equally invested in his growth throughout the book. Elliott has a wonderfully fluid writing style, not too flashy, but able to perfectly capture the different voices of Jaime, Agatha, and Nathara.

I would like to have seen a little more deviation from the typical Us vs Them conflict. The deamhains were all bad, the Scotians were essentially all good, and that whole 'evil foreigner' trope is just a bit too tired for me. And, to be honest, it was the less interesting subplot when compared to Agatha's abilities, and the dark-magic rivalry of the Scotian and Inglish kings, and the concept of a land laid bare by plague. I'm hoping that's where the next books will focus.

But, overall, an outstanding debut. A touch of fantasy, a dash of historical, with A PROTAGONIST WHO ISN'T NEUROTYPICAL! Yay! Perfect for 13-15yo readers who don't mind a little menace, and definitely one I can see becoming a classic. 4/5,

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The Good Hawk is a historical fantasy set in mythic Scotland. Agatha and Jaime are members of the Clann a Tuath from Skye island. Agatha is a Hawk and spends her days on the wall as a lookout for any possible invaders. Jamie is an Angler who hates the sea. He'd always wanted to be a Wasp and make boats, but the enclave doesn't get to choose their profession. Instead, it's unlawful to do anything else then what they've been assigned. For generations, marrying was also outlawed, but Jamie is due to marry Lileas from a neighboring island. No reason is given, but it's suspected that the clans want to form stronger bonds and align against a possible threat from the Deamhain.

On the day following Jamie's wedding, an invading force of Deamhain kidnaps the clan. Being the only remaining villagers, Agatha, Jaime, and Lileas set sail after the invaders to try and rescue the clan. Along the way, they face many perils, including being overpowered by a Deamhain soldier they've captured who is linked to the leader of the invading army, and having their boat sink off the coast of Scotia, a place that is rumored to be haunted. Once on the mainland, Agatha and Jaime encounter a clan of Highland bull riders which requires Agatha to use her hidden talents of communicating with animals to get the clan to escort them to the east. They also meet a Mad Queen and upon reaching Norveg come head to head with the king of Deamhain. But once their bargaining chip is lost, how will they convince the king to let their clan go?

The Good Hawk was inspired by Elliott's own work with children with learning disabilities. Agatha's character is meant to portray a young girl with Down Syndrome who is misunderstood by her own clan, often placed in the care of others so she doesn't get into any trouble. The story alternates between Agatha and Jaime with both voices being very distinct. Agatha can get angry at times and maybe is easily infatuated by the other male characters, but she is endearing and cares for her clan deeply. Jaime is brave and only becomes overwhelmed by all of the dangers that they've encountered. He has the tendency to doubt himself and feels weak for it.

The various clans have varying beliefs and practices. This is where I found a few potential issues. For one, Jaime shows insensitivity and intolerance in his interactions with a character who is gay. He not only says he's "heard of people like that," but that he "knows it's not right." Maybe this was meant to reflect the thinking of the time period, given that even Agatha is told by one of the clan's elders that she "should have been drowned at birth." I just wish that the author would have included more current positive depictions and thoughts in here as well. Maybe have Jaime defend Agatha against the elder's words by saying how she is a kind compassionate person. Or continue to highlight Agatha's capabilities despite any physical or mental differences she may have to show the elder's ignorance. I know it may be a small piece of an otherwise wonderful adventure but just these few instances soured the story for me slightly.

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