Breath

 

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Breath is written by Donna Jo Napoli and published by Atheneum Books in 2003. Napoli is an American author of young adult and children’s books such as The Magic Circle (1993), Beast (2000), and Dark Shimmer (2015). This is a YA historical fantasy retelling of the Pied Piper legend. Most of this is rooted in historical fact but some elements such as the piper legend and “magic” makes it dip into fantasy. While this reads similarly to a middle grade book, this does deal with some more mature material, including suggestive material, as well as some gruesome scenes with the plague.

*Some Spoilers Ahead*

Slaz is a twelve year old farmer’s son who has always been sickly. His lungs fill with mucus, causing him to cough and double over in pain. This prevents him from working with his father and brothers in the fields, but allows him to work closely with his grandmother, learning her magic and taking part in the ceremonies of the coven. After a particularly rainy spring, there is an infestation of rats in the town and countryside. The livestock start to get sick and Slaz and his grandmother do their best to help the other farmers but all of their ceremonies and remedies do nothing to help. Then the townsfolk start getting sick. At first it’s thought to be brought on by the rats but after Slaz’s family is affected, this accusation turns to witchcraft. Once Slaz has been cleared, he suggests they hire a piper whose able to charm animals with his music. At this point, the normal story of the pied piper occurs. After the townspeople refuse to pay the full amount they promised, the piper plays music and leads everyone away but only the young children who haven’t been affected by the plague are able to follow all the way into the mountains. Slaz collapses and is forced to return to town. He sees the destruction of the plague and chooses to abandon his family in order to find Ava, the little girl he has been caring for after her mother died. 

Slaz is young but logical and resourceful. Even though his father and brothers seem to dislike him—either because they blame him for the death of his mother and youngest sister, or because he is the one studying to become a cleric instead of the brother who wants to go to school instead of work the fields—Slaz is always quick to care for them despite how much they abuse him.

His father is stern and favors his older sons. After his wife died, he had no problems selling his young daughters as slaves in order to pay for the farm and leaving him with this four sons. He wants them to stay on the farm instead of moving to town and he neither encourages nor discourages his three eldest from mistreating Slaz. It’s almost to the point that he doesn’t even acknowledge Slaz unless it is to have him perform a chore like killing the rats. 

Großmater (pronounced Grossmater) is Slaz’s grandmother. She’s an elder in the coven that she and Slaz belong to. Most of her time is spent teaching Slaz how to stay alive when most children born with his ailment die at a young age. She also does her best to help everyone who needs remedies, never charging so she can’t be labeled a healer and blamed if something doesn’t work.

Slaz’s three brothers, Bertram, Ludolf, and Melis, are older and stronger, spending most of their time either working on the farm or tormenting Slaz. Ludolf and Melis are fairly interchangeable but Bertram is the bigger antagonist. He blames Slaz for his mother’s death. Their youngest sister, Gertrude, was born with the same illness as Slaz—he was only five or six at the time—and he was unable to teach her how to survive. Their mother passed away shortly after Gertrude and Bertram has been cruel to Slaz ever since. 

Ava is a young orphan girl who Slaz takes charge of after his grandmother brings her home. While the rest of the men protest, Slaz is more than happy to raise the little girl and puts all his focus into caring for her. She’s also not affected by the disease that’s spreading through the townspeople and does her best to help Slaz deal with his family. 

Finally, the piper. He appears at the very beginning, when Slaz is charmed by his “animal” music. He chooses not to stay in the town and join the coven and goes on to a larger beer festival in a neighboring city. He then disappears until the end when Slaz convinces everyone to hire him. He returns to the town, charms the rats out and chooses to stay close to Slaz afterwards, convinced  whatever Slaz and Ava are doing to fend off the disease is the best thing for him to do as well. When the mayor refuses to pay the promised amount, the piper plays “people” music and charms everyone to follow him. 

This book has a slow build since disease and superstitions are the main villains of the story. Most of the plot revolves around trying to help people rid the town of the rats in the hope of getting rid of the disease. Slaz, his grandmother, and the coven all work to aid people but fail. Once Slaz’s family starts getting sick, Bertram becomes convinced Slaz is to blame for everyone being sick. He attempts to kill Slaz but kills his grandmother instead. Bertram is put on trial but claims Saint Michael told him to kill Slaz in order to prevent the disease from getting worse. This is also when Slaz is accused of being a warlock and using magic to keep himself and Ava from getting sick. He stands trial but the priests who have taught him are able to convince everyone he’s not a warlock or diseased. He doesn’t have the symptoms, he’s always coughed, and his black cat has a patch of white which means it cannot be a familiar. Ava is also returned to him and he suggests they ask the piper to rid them of the rats. 

It’s interesting that Slaz is so young yet he’s also the most logical. While everyone is ready to blame the illness on ghosts and witches, he actually tries to figure out the reason. He’s told rats often carry plagues and leads the charge  against them. He’s also looking for what could have caused a spirit to become angry at his family. At the end, he’s also the one who figures out the disease is coming from the fresh grains used in the fresh breads and beer. Since his family hasn’t made any fresh bread yet, and Slaz isn’t allowed to drink beer—like most children between three and seven—which spares him the disease. 

By the end, he has no home, Ava is missing, and the majority of the town has been wrecked by the disease. He marches after the piper in the hopes of finding Ava and the book ends.

I loved this book. It’s a short and easy read. There’s not a ton of fantasy elements in it, so I consider it more historical than anything else, though it is based on a myth. The characters are amazing and well developed even without over-dramatic scenes or backstory telling. The plot isn’t over complicated, and everything naturally progresses. I was a little surprised at some of the ceremonies Slaz participated in. While it was never explicit, there is some drug and possibly sexual elements suggested. There is also some suggestive elements in regards to the disease, so be prepared for that.

Being someone who enjoys learning random facts, I already suspected it was something in the beer, some kind of fungus growing on the plants, but I was happy when it proved true. 

The ending was perfect. I was so sad when Ava was taken and I was left craving a sequel where Slaz goes after her. They are really the only two I care about. A little explanation about the piper and his powers might also have been nice but wasn’t completely necessary.

This is a YA book but it’s good for anyone who is just entering this genre. It’s easy to read, not too shocking or gross, and expects you to figure some things out on your own without holding your hand. I recommend this book and plan on reading more of Napoli’s works.