BOOK: Spelregels by Floortje Zwigtman

Title: Spelregels
Author: Floortje Zwigtman
Genre: Historical novel for young teens
Publisher: De Fontein
Pages: 158
Language: Dutch (it has been translated into German (Wie Sonne Und Mond), but it's not available in English, yet.
Rating: 6/10

Synopsis Set in the middleages, it's the story of Allard and Marjorie, who are arranged to be married when they're teens. They don't know each other and they both have a hard time dealing with this new life. Marjorie comes to live with Allard and his parents and has to learn how to be a lady. When Allard's father leaves to fight in the war, Allard has to be the man of the house, but he barely knows how to act like a man. The story of their marriage is told by both of them.

I bought this book because I had been overwhelmed by the first two parts of Floortje Zwigtman's Green Flower trilogy. I figured I would love all her stories, but this was a difficult one to like.

Review with mild spoilers
Marjorie is a girl who questions her role as lady of the house and wonders why she isn't allowed to have an opinion. She would also like to contribute more by being able to fight the war.
Allard doesn't know how to communicate with his new young wife and when he can't get through to her, he starts to hit her. This method of making her listen soon spirals out of control.
I've struggled to understand why this happens, but I fail to understand why Allard resorts to violence. I also didn't understand Marjorie's lack of response. Even though Zwigtman tries to explain the circumstances and gives us both Allard and Marjorie's point of view, I don't get either of them. I guess I've been blessed by not experiencing violence in that manner. I don't want to blame the author for being unable to make me feel anything. Especially since her other books have left me a blubbering mess. This simply wasn't a story I could relate to. But I hope the book is a learning experience for the kids it's written for. Besides the moral questions it raises, the story is a great source for information about history from the perspective of two teens. The details about the time period are extensive: I could sense the smells and sounds while I was reading. And I did get a good impression of what it must have been like to live in a castle in the middle ages. But I had been looking forward to a more emotional journey, not just a trip back in time. So for me the story didn't deliver.
Therefore the relatively low rating is based on my personal feelings and not so much on the worth of the book for the intended audience.