The Butcher's Boy

Abused and orphaned at thirteen, red-haired Rosso flees his Venetian village with only the clothes on his
back and his brother's bitter threats in his ears. He becomes one of the hundreds of shadowy figures roaming the medieval Italian countryside, threatened by warring kingdoms, deadly plagues, and often one another.
But Rosso is not one to give in to suffering or fear, and his new, independent life takes a turn for the better when he meets two fellow travelers who offer him the kind of family he never had.
Rosso and his friends set out on a series of adventures that will test and bind them. The abused son of a butcher becomes a shepherd, a soldier, a monk, and even a spy. With each new adventure, this unlikely hero finds himself more deeply enmeshed in the intrigues that will define the future of the continent.
Rosso is a delightful debut that reminds us that hope endures in every time and for every person who seeks it, even for those who seem invisible.