Review of An Uncommon Crusade by Caron Guillo

Most people don't know that the Muslims started the centuries-long war with Europe that came to be called the Crusades. Caron Guillo does not go into the causes and justifications of the Crusades; she takes a snapshot of some people in one Crusade. She rightly shows that most people did not want war, on either side, and that hunger and disease killed many more people than battle did. Everyone finds their faith shaken by their experiences.
Another thing most people don't know is the extent to which Europeans (and Americans for a few decades) were sold into slavery in Muslim lands. Some survived and flourished in their slavery, and some were further traumatized. The author vividly shows what life was like for some of the European slaves.
There were many things to like about this book. The writing is clear, the writer has done her research, and the characters are fairly believable. As could be expected for a story set in the Children's Crusade, a lot of the events are depressing, and yet hope in a Good God shines through this story of a variety of people who joined the Crusade with varying motives. If you like historical fiction that is realistic and some romance thrown in, you should like the story of these survivors.