This book was solely on my radar because it entered public domain this year. I don't remember if I read a synopsis.
Joseph is traveling with his mother and father to Krakow. Their home has been destroyed, and they're on their way to find some family in the city. Unfortunately, their relative has died, and their name needs to be changed for safety. The father is also hiding something in a pumpkin.
At the Church of Our Lady St. Mary, a trumpeter marks the hour by playing a tune at each of the four windows of the tower. Joseph's father ends up in the position, and Joseph will become part of the tradition. Back at their lodgings, the alchemist upstairs prevents some thieves from acquiring the contents of the pumpkin, but it doesn't turn out the way you'd expect.
This story was pretty wild. Apparently, the story takes inspiration from an actual historical fire that destroyed a lot of Krakow in 1462, so that was pretty neat. I also liked the background story for the trumpeter. I played the trumpet, so I have some boas there.
In a time when superstition and science were both led to accusations of black magic, I can well believe a huge crystal could cause this much chaos. The best books I've read are the ones where I can't tell when it was written. I feel like this one showed its age in a few places, but it wasn't bad. I don't know that I'll remember it in a few months, though. It's unique for what it is, and I appreciate that. At the end of the day, I wouldn't recommend it to my kids (it's a young adult book), so I suppose it doesn't merit the stamp of approval. But it's close.
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