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Summary: !!!SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT CHANGES STUDENT!!!
Review: I am a Pre-AP English teacher who was given a class set of Crusader from a librarian in our system due to mature content of the theme. I read the book upon receiving it, and thought that it would make an excellent summer novel to assign my students. I was correct. I find it highly gratifying as a teacher when a book causes growth and change in a student- the entire reason I teach in the first place. Crusader did just that. The ones who chose to read it expressed in their summer projects how the trials of Roberta made them thankful for what they have and respectful of those who are not so fortuante. Thank you Mr. Bloor for giving us teachers such wonderful materials!
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Summary: Crusader
Review: For probably the first time ever, I agree with most of the people that have reviewed this book. Greatly detailed, twisting plot, fascinating characters. However, Bloor showed his genius with the title as well. The arcade game Crusader, was just an afterthought, something to give you a better idea of who the Crusader really was in the book. Roberta was the apparent Crusader, and the infidel the multiple obstacles she had to struggle through in the book. Her father, Ray Lyons, Stephen Cross, her mother's murder, wrong accusations against friends for racial hate crimes, and the deaths of individuals who evidently had an impact upon the Crusader herself. And as for the length of the book, the different sub-plots occurring throughout the entire novel, most at the same time, didn't add confusion, but pieces of the puzzle that is Roberta's world. Bloor wrote this without a black and white format. There really wasn't a good or a bad side. Ironically, just like the Crusades. It all depends on which side you come from. Coincidence? Somehow, I doubt that, considering that several different political and economic views were represented as neither right nor wrong throughout the book. Even at the end, there was correct or incorrect. Roberta came of age, and people who performed objectionable acts in the past were either forced to deal with the guilt, or lose everything all together. There are several different ways to which you can look at this book...but no matter how you see it, it's all going to come down to Roberta as the Crusader, and her obstacles as the infidel. The sub-plots are considered by the eye of the beholder and nothing can change THAT. ~.~KeNdRa~.~
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Summary: I prefered Edward Bloor's First Novel, Tangerine
Review: Crusader was a good story, a really excellent plot. But as a writer myself, I can easily say that it was too long. There was a good deal of unneeded information stuffed into the novel. If it was kept simpler it would have been a much better book. But it was still a worthwhile read. The ending is fantastic and Edward Bloor does have an amazing writing style. But Tangerine was a truly amazing book if you need to read something by this author.
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Summary: Crusader- A Review
Review: I found this book to be very interesting and it reached a nice climax, but it was missing a few things. It did not, unfortunately, have a solid flow to it in the way I had hoped it would when I purchased this book. I thought Roberta was a very inspiring character, however. I thougt it was with great detail that Mr. Bloor described many scenes in this book. Four stars.
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Summary: Roseanne, avid reader, writer
Review: this was definatly one of the best books i ever read. It deals with real life difficulties struggles and disapointments. Its detail and twisted plot were absolutly fantastic.
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Summary: Enough ideas for several books
Review: I liked Bloor's ideas for the book, but i felt that he, as a beginnning publishing author should not include so many different ideas in the book, and instead, write many books with the same characters, but with each book include different ideas. I did, however, greatly apreciate the diversity in the topics, and he is a very artful writer.
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Summary: Bloor gets better with this his 2nd novel
Review: Bloor's first novel Tangerine was tasty, but Crusader battles for a higher notch of success, tackling bigger issues, with a more involved story line and better developed characters.In the story, "Crusader" is the name of a virtual-reality video game, and anti-Muslim acts perpetrated against an Arab store owner in the same mall seem to be somehow connected to this new and violent game. Roberta Ritter teen sleuth extraordinaire is about to find out how ugly the truth can be, and in the process not only will she blow the perpetrator's cover, but she'll ultimately carve a new identity for herself light years beyond anyone's expectations. A coming-of-age teen sleuth novel for the new millenium, Crusader gives us a teen protagonist who is up to the task of taking on the sordid world of video violence and subsurface racism, of politically correct hypocrisies and parental failures, and manages to emerge not only intact, but the stronger for it. Lively, entertaining, and flirting with controversy, the story's main weakness seems to be that it tries, in the end, to be too many things to too many people. The point of view seems fragmented by the time we reach the roller-coaster credibility-straining end, but it's a fun ride nonetheless. Recommended for teens and young adults, the book is a lively read for the rest of us also. We can only hope that Bloor will continue to hone his skills, and we welcome his worthy contributions to this much-neglected genre.
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Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: This book, Crusader by Edward Bloor is very captivating. Bloor makes you keep on reading to find out what happens next. Roberta, the main character, is full of surprises. This is a good book to read for preteens, and teens. Personally, this is the best book I have ever read.
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Summary: Edward Bloor Is A True Novelist!
Review: I read this book for my English class. We have read books in the past, books like The Grapes of Wrath and Great Expectations. Well, this was way more than that! I loved it! I have already asked my father to buy me a copy and I just got the book three days ago. Honestly, I could NOT put it down!
In short, This fifteen-year-old girl named Roberta Ritter works in a failing mall in a failing arcade, that her uncle own (the arcade, not the mall). The big mystery in this is that Roberta's mother was murdered seven years ago in their old arcade, and people still don't know who the killer is. Roberta basically goes on a quest to find out who killed her mother.
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Summary: A fine book for those wishing to look "out of the box"
Review: I thought this was a fascinating book that really made me think a little bit. It's long enough to let you get into it and not be disappointed when it ends yet not so long that you get bored. I think the reader will find it interesting how the book takes so many creepy turns all the time. (This is not a horror story!). A lovely piece of work, I rate it as 5 stars ....
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