Gatty stiffened. ‘Me?’

‘I don’t know why,’ Sian went on. ‘He never tells me anything.’

Why does Sir John want to see me, Gatty wondered.

It’s the year 1203 and field-girl Gatty is about to experience the biggest journey that she will ever make. From a small village in Wales, nine companions will set across Europe to Jerusalem. Not everyone will return. It’s a dangerous time to be making a journey.

Gatty’s Tale gets off to a slow start with lots of description, making you wonder if you should read the book or not. There are lots of things not relevant to the book's main story, but once you get past the first few chapters the story picks up and you want to read on. As the pilgrims travel further, and the deeper into the book you go, challenges become more difficult. The best bit of the story must be the middle section when they are in Venice, as this does not have too much description. Difficulties appear for Gatty and her friends and much of the story’s main plot takes place here.

I would recommend this book to people who don’t mind waiting to reach the main plot. I found the ending was a let-down and the twist of the story did not really work for me. As the ending draws near it picks up pace too much. I think you really wanted to reach the finish by the time you are on the last two chapters. There is too much irrelevant detail in the last section, leaving you on a low when you finish, even though this is a good book and I would recommend it. 

Overall Gatty’s Tale is definitely for thirteen years or more, otherwise you would not grasp what the story is trying to put across. I think it is worth reading and you should not be put off by the number of chapters or the thickness of this book. I would give it eight out of ten.