Review: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo
Quick Info:
Book type: Chapter Book
Target age: 8-12 years old
Recommended age: None
Plot: A young girl is prophesied to come during a war to “dethrone a king and being great change” through the power of stories and love. With the help of her new friends she decides to make that prophecy come true.
Review:
I finished this book in one sitting and it flowed wonderfully but the content was weird and confusing. If you want a similar vibe then I would just read a children’s magical classic. There was a strong religious and spiritual theme where they would talk about prophecies from the “prophet monks” and mentioning of angels. Although there is never mentioning of a higher power or deity. The theme was basically “love will prevail” and “all you need is love” , which isn’t a bad message but at the same time I don’t know why everyone cared so deeply for the main character so much. I feel as though the author wanted to write a deep and philosophical book for children but missed the mark.
Opinion:
I wouldn’t recommend this book mainly due to the religious/spiritual themes. Especially as the monks refer to themselves as prophets and the whole concept of “The Chronicles of Sorrow”.
Content:
Goat called a “demon goat” (it’s not actually one, just an angry goat)
Refers to demons occupying objects and people (ex. Edik’s eye—more likely he has a lazy eye)
Mentions hauntings by ghosts
Monks refer to themselves as prophets who receive prophecies that must be written in “the great book” The Chronicles of Sorrowing “tells the story of what has happened and of things that might yet happen, those things which have been prophesied”
Name calling (coward, broken-eyed, fool)
Story of angel and horse swapping body parts in “a trick of destiny”
Cruelty & violence (abusive father who “beat the nonsense out of him”)
Beatryce dresses as a male monk with a shaved head throughout the whole book (for her safety hiding from the King, not due to gender dysphoria)
Refers to the devil (a scary man “sounded like the devil himself”)
War, killing & death is prevalent (a character is traumatized at the death of his parents, a character nearly kills someone, Beatryce’s brothers are killed in front of her)
An evil, ugly angel of death reveals herself to a dying soldier to tell him “it must be written down for a chance of forgiveness” the “it” turned out to be a confession of his sins (killing in the war—he talks about his killing for about 2 pages. He refers to killing children)
Beatryce is referred to as bewitched
Excerpts:
Excerpts from books are a glimpse of the content that is found and are not every instance of un-Islamic and/or “iffy” content.
Context:
The character, Brother Edik, is a monk that lives in a monastery with other men where his job is to write down the “Chronicles of Sorrowing”—more specifically drawing the intricate first letter of every chapter. He, like the other monks, sometimes are “revealed some truth” which are referred to as prophecies that must happen.
Context:
The Chronicles of Sorrowing is also referred to as “the great book”. It is the book that the monks (also referred to as prophets) write down the “truths” and “prophecies” that come to them.
Context:
This is the chapter where the soldier is met by “an angel of death”. The soldier has just left a war where he has killed people and specifically children (it turns out to be Beatryce’s brothers). The “angel of death” is basically demanding the soldier to “write down his sins” so he may be forgiven in death.
