Completely new and refreshing subject-matter from the last book I read, but that tends to be the case. Having only been a distant observer of the folklore and life of St. Francis of Assisi, I look forward learning more and experiencing it from a woman's narrative.

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Neat book. Ricca's love for Francis can be inspiring at times, but at other times the plot became very unbelievable and I couldn't really follow her emotions. I was genuinely surprised at the amount of freedom of choice she had, being a teenage girl in thirteenth-century Italy, born into nobility, and of marrying/childbearing age. Maybe this wasn't very accurate to the time period?

Overall, a lovely collection of small and large adventures and interesting happenings, my favorite being Ricca's Egyptian dance for the sultan, although her attitude about seemed inconsistent with the general disposition of her character throughout the book. I look forward now to reading more about the life and works of Saint Francis of Assisi, and even more so, the historical decimation of Damietta and other atrocities of the crusades.

This was one of O'Dell's best. Simultaneously highly original and historically insightful -- a difficult feat.

Well...this was kind of a strange book. Girl is in love with wild boy. Wild boy turns into a monk. Girl won't give it up. Girl never gets anywhere with boy. Girl ends up learning that the world doesn't revolve around her. So it has a good moral, but it's definitely not one that I'd give a shout out for.

a really good book! I couldn't put it down.

Not really a favorite. The character was not really likeable. While the author tried to portray Saint Francis as people around him viewed him (silly and ridiculous or one to be worshipped), and his more devoted side through the eyes of Ricca, I didnt really feel I k ew more about this man than my history books told me. I did come away with a better understanding of the church/times/and crusades, but again, it felt over sexualized as this young girl fantasies over Saint Francis. This is a young adult and should be used as such. Alas, just not what I was hoping. The end felt way to much like the ending of Gone With The Wind. And so my final thought will be similarly; frankly, I just dont give a da--, but I will stop there.

ETA- the more I reflect on this, I do see it with a similarly written plot as Thackeray's Vanity Fair or Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. Ricca has a sweet friend, Clare who also follows after the devout Assisi, while the studious and loyal tutor offers Ricca love and marriage.
This book is filled with more sexuality the more I thought about it. If you are a religious person seeking biographies to fit your library, this probably should be preread. Ricca drops all her clothes publically after seeing herself as Eve to Francis. Some man fiddles her breast. Just stuff that parents should be aware of.

This was a pretty good tale about Saint Francis of Assisi, and of Ricca the young woman who became enamoured of him from their child-hood days up until his death.

The more Ricca professed her love for Francis the more he professed his love for Christ!

The book was written to portray St. Francis of Asissi through the eyes of the heroine, who was consumed by a kind of love for him. I did not consider the book, and the actions, views and motives expressed to be edifying at all. If you want to read about St. Francis, look for another book.

Well written, but I couldn't identify with the main character. She just didn't get it! If it had been written from Clare's point of view I would have liked it more.

Another one of my O'Dell favorites-- an insightful, unique view of St. Francis of Assisi. Although O'Dell is a young adult author, this story is is filled with mature themes, and I've enjoyed re-reading this book several times as an adult.

For those readers who were surprised at the cover not being so innocent, its good to remember that Scott O'Dell himself did not think of himself as a writer of children's books. When I was in college doing research on this author for my children's literature class, my research actually said that he thought of himself as a writer of novels which children just happen to read. I think this is a distinct difference worth remembering. After all, how many books for children mention orgies (Ricca says "I saw none of the orgy, it being described by my brother") and belly dancing in which the naked woman strips off her seven veils?

I've always thought this book was excellent. I first read it as a teenager, and even though at 33 I read other books for people my own age, I do come back to this one as a good, short reread every now and again. Yes, this is a coming of age story-- and the fact that Ricca's almost undying love of Francis threatens to make her an unreliable narrator, the narration actually is pretty reliable and refreshing. I won't give away any more than that but I do think this book is worth reading, especially if you are a Scott O'Dell fan.

Ricca falls in love with Francis and follows him almost everywhere he goes, a novel way to learn about the personality and faith of St. Frances as he lives out his faith in the world in which he lives.

This time we are in 13th century Assisi, and a nobleman's daughter is hopelessly in love with Francesco Bernardone, later to be known as St. Francis. She ends up following Francesco to Damietta in Egypt, as part of the Fourth Crusade.

Decent. Francis isn't all that flatteringly shown, although he gains in stature in the end. The narrator (the girl) is kind of annoying. There's sort of a conversion at the end, but it's not terribly convincing.

There is a good sense of suspense in the book; I kept wondering what will happen.

Meets O'Dell's usual good standards of verisimilitude. A bit more exposure to rape and prostitution than most of his books.