Joan

Joan 

by Katherine J. Chen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"This must be what happens when you leave your home, travel, and see the world. Little by little, you begin to change, even if you are not aware of it. What was once alien becomes familiar: foreign tongues, the music of strange instruments, the vagaries of the sea. Slowly you alter until the very stars that spin in the heavens are as familiar to you as the lines of your own hand. But first you must step out your front door. You must be willing to love every inch of yourself, for the next time you look into a stream or a mirror, which may be weeks, years, or half a lifetime from now, you will not recognize your reflection." (p. 79)

This was a fabulous book. It tells the tale of the Hundred Years' War from the point of view of Joan D'Arc, beginning when she is just a little girl. How does a girl from a poor village in France become a heroic sainted warrior? In the hands of Katherine Chen it is a meandering path in which each separate step makes sense and where these steps cumulate into an incredible adventure. 

I am counting this book toward the Historical Fiction Challenge.