At night he “dreams he’s being pursued. The usual dream. He’s running away from someone he never sees, but whose hot breath he can feel on his neck.” 

Running from both his family who has betrayed him and the bailiff who is desperate to find him, a young boy finds safe haven with an old goatherd. But his trials seem to never end.

This was a tough read, but had moments of beauty and hope in the relationship that the boy and the goatherd form. I was surprised and challenged by the lessons the goatherd tries to bestow…even though he rarely speaks. There is so much evil, death, and destruction fighting against the boy, yet in the face of betrayal the goatherd encourages the boy, “He, too, is a child of God.” That will stick with me.