So, the story takes place in the coastal town Senj and is based on the author's experiences with orphaned children in Croatia. He did really meet Zora and Branko, the two protagonists of the book and tried to take both of them with him to Switzerland. When his attempts failed, he wrote his book. It's about Zora and her band who live in an abandoned castle close to the town and have to steal food, since there are no adults looking after them. Zora is the head of the band which exept of her only consists of boys. When Branko's mother dies and he pick's up a fish at the market he gets arrested for stealing and his freed by Zora. He becomes the last member of the band. From then on the kids have to deal with the citizens of Senj as well as with the daily task of not dying.
It's a serious topic but it's written in a funny way, Zora and her band make up a lot of strategies to outsmart the town's people. In the end, they have to help their friend Gorian, an old fisherman, who is forced to sell his bay and finally they blame the mayor in front of the whole town. I can only recommend it. It's a real classic and a must read when you are a child and if you have any chance to read it although you are already a teenager you should definetily go for it. I mean, you won't have to tell anyone, you could just pretend knowing it from the time you were twelve years old. And, by the way, to explain the title: The Uskoken were some pirates living in Senj in the 16th century, the castle is the castle I already mentioned and I think it's obvious why they've been outsiders. - Julia
1 Comment
Cristina Pianezzola
8/2/2016 23:28:46
My all time favorite book ever. Grew up in an children's home and often was the only girl there. Now I wonder what the attraction was? :) When ever I started to feel overwhelmed I read that book to let me know it could be worse. I still read it in German. Have been trying for years to find an English copy so my daughters could read it. But the few I found on line are out of my budget. Wish we could find a library copy. I concur that this is a great read at any age,
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