Wham! So here I am, standing in a sea of dirt, with a big mad Templar lobbing rocks at my head. Wham! Like some kind of martyr. Wham! He throws like a catapult. ‘All right, Pagan, that’s enough.’ (I should damn well think so.) ‘Do you see what your problem is?’ Wait - don’t tell me. You are. It’s twelfth-century Jerusalem, the time of the Crusades. Shrewd and scrappy Pagan has been plucked from the streets to work for Lord Roland, a Templar knight. Set against a background of mounting tension as Saladin’s infidels close in on the Holy City, Pagan’s Crusade is an exciting and exuberant tale of medieval adventure. Catherine Jinks masterfully intertwines thrilling action with a deeply personal story as Roland emerges as both mentor and friend for the orphaned Pagan. An engaging, moving and thoroughly satisfying experience. ‘What a romp! Not since Don Quixote took up with Sancho Panza has a knight had a squire like Pagan Kidrouk.’ – Voice of Youth Advocates