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Crispin: The End of Time (Crispin #3)

by Avi

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 434 ratings · 76 reviews

As long as I could keep myself out of bondage, I would be true to Bear's teaching. And so it was that beyond all else, I was determined to keep my freedom.

After the death of their beloved mentor, Bear, Crispin and Troth are more desperate than ever, wandering the desolate French countryside, where they don't speak the language and know no one. The only hope they cling to i...more

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published June 15th 2010 (first published January 1st 2010)

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Mar 06, 2012 IndyPL Kids Book Blog rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure

Crispin The End of Time finishes the trilogy that began with #1 Crispin The Cross of Lead and #2: Crispin at the Edge of the World. Crispin is a peasant orphan in 14th Century France - that would be in the time of castles and knights. In his previous adventures Crispin made a family for himself with his friend Troth and Bear, the man who looks after them. At the beginning of this book, Bear has died, which leaves Crispin and Troth orphaned again; alone and hungry with no place to call home. Cris...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Mrs. Corriston Corriston rated it 4 of 5 stars

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure/action stories, because there are many dangerous obstacles for the main character, Crispin. Crispin is trying to get to Iceland, but along the way his sister leaves him, he finds musicians that turn out to be thieves, and he makes a promise to a slave. He is trapped in a walled city, with only one way out, a hidden passageway. Another problem he faces is that the soldiers guarding the city know who he is, so if they catch him escaping he...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Mara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-to-buy, historical-fiction

The Cross of Lead - the first book in this series - didn't need a sequel, and I still think that. However, its sequels - At the Edge of the World and The End of Time - are just as good as The Cross of Lead. And I get the feeling that this one may have yet another one after it. It doesn't need one, but I have faith that Avi will do a good job, just as he did with the others. Avi is a very talented author. Never have I encountered one who can write so effectively in any genre he wishes - and for a...more The Cross of Lead - the first book in this series - didn't need a sequel, and I still think that. However, its sequels - At the Edge of the World and The End of Time - are just as good as The Cross of Lead. And I get the feeling that this one may have yet another one after it. It doesn't need one, but I have faith that Avi will do a good job, just as he did with the others. Avi is a very talented author. Never have I encountered one who can write so effectively in any genre he wishes - and for all ages. But I'm especially fond of his historical novels.

I don't really have much to say about The End of Time simply because there are no criticisms and no extreme praise that I have not already said. Normally, by the 3rd installment, an adolescent narrator becomes annoying. But Crispin, being thirteen and in general a good boy, is not annoying and I am quite fond of him. I missed Bear in this one, but as an Author, I can appreciate and understand why he had to die. I was sad that Troth left the story fairly early on, but Owen has his own charm and is an acceptible "replacement" - though that doesn't seem the right word, because he isn't a replacement; he's a new character not meant to fill in Troth's role, but just another unfortunate who Crispin meets along the way.

Like the other two, The End of Time is a very quick read, and I think can be enjoyed by any age. What I really like is in some ways each book in this series can almost act as a stand-alone volume, which is nice when one hasn't read the prequels in a while, and doesn't really have time to go back and read them first. If you haven't read At the Edge of the World, then you won't understand the full story behind Troth nor Bear's death. And if you haven't read The Cross of Lead, you won't be able to appreciate the great loss Crispin feels when Bear dies, nor will you understand why Crispin is so desperate for freedom. But the events that take place in either of those do not so heavily influence its successor that you cannot read one without the other.

The Crispin Series is a very good, quick, enjoyable read. The End of Time doesn't need a sequel, but I will not feel dread as I so often do when an Author adds on to a series that really ought to be finished. Indeed, I'll be content whether or not Avi writes another.(less)

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Jul 05, 2010 Eva Mitnick rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children, historical-fiction

Starting right where the Crispin: At the Edge of the World left off, this final installment in the trilogy has Crispin and Troth staggering, exhausted and tattered, through France as they search for Iceland. Bear always told them Iceland was a place where people could be free, and though Bear is dead, Crispin sees Iceland as a shining beacon of hope.

Troth finds a haven early on, but Crispin pushes on, falls in with a band of traveling musicians who also happen to be murdering thieves, makes his...more Starting right where the Crispin: At the Edge of the World left off, this final installment in the trilogy has Crispin and Troth staggering, exhausted and tattered, through France as they search for Iceland. Bear always told them Iceland was a place where people could be free, and though Bear is dead, Crispin sees Iceland as a shining beacon of hope.

Troth finds a haven early on, but Crispin pushes on, falls in with a band of traveling musicians who also happen to be murdering thieves, makes his way with them to Calais, and finally finds himself on a cog sailing toward Iceland. And there the story ends, my friends.

Although a boy named Owen who is traveling with the musicians might become a friend, Crispin doesn't have much opportunity to get to know him, and so he spends most of this novel cold, scared, and most of all alone. Readers will miss Troth, but I must say I was happy that she found a place where she can be safe, appreciated, and even happy. As for Crispin, he is his usual good, sweet self. I can't understand how every half-way decent person he meets doesn't want to take him home, dress him warmly, and stuff him with nourishing stew - but then again, he doesn't meet too many half-way decent people in this book.

Not a whole heck of a lot happens, as Crispin is mostly trying to get away from this scary family that has rather forcefully admitted him into their midst. This family is portrayed in quite an interesting and sinister manner. The matriarch, Elena, is obviously a woman of great complexity and intelligence - you can feel Crispin's disappointment that her warmth is directed only at her own family.

The oddest episode has to do with the manner in which Crispin comes across a warm and attractive outfit - in what apparently is an old grave. What does it mean? Why is it that the best thing that happens to him in the whole book is courtesy of a dead man?

The ending is both a relief and a worry, as Crispin is finally free of that hideous and dangerous family but is setting off for a very uncertain future. What on earth will he do in Iceland? Will he even make it there? Won't he be awfully chilly in the cold north? I'm concerned about the poor boy and I wish I had some reassurance that he's got a lifetime of full bellies ahead of him. He has had to endure so much hardship in his 13 years.

Although not as satisfying as the first two in the trilogy, this is still action-packed and well-written, a must for Crispin fans. For ages 10 and up. (less)

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Jul 09, 2011 Josiah rated it 2 of 5 stars

More than a decade in the making, the journey of the often-tortured and always maligned Crispin, an orphaned waif living in fourteenth century England, finally reaches its conclusion in Crispin: The End of Time. By this time, not only has Crispin lost the noble birthright that he deserved to benefit from as much as any of his lord father's illegitimate sons, but he has lost the person most dear to him in all the world since the murder of his mother: the traveling minstrel Bear, who had seemed s...more More than a decade in the making, the journey of the often-tortured and always maligned Crispin, an orphaned waif living in fourteenth century England, finally reaches its conclusion in Crispin: The End of Time. By this time, not only has Crispin lost the noble birthright that he deserved to benefit from as much as any of his lord father's illegitimate sons, but he has lost the person most dear to him in all the world since the murder of his mother: the traveling minstrel Bear, who had seemed so gruff and uncaring at first but became, over time, the only genuine father figure that Crispin had ever known.

Bear is dead, slain by heartless marauding soldiers whose god was their money, who bore no tangible loyalty to king or country. Crispin is now on his own alongside his adopted "sister", Troth, with no goal in mind except the possibility of heading for the strange land that Bear had once spoken of where no kings, lords or armies darkened the horizon and killed or enslaved innocent people. It is a land that Bear had called only "Iceland", but Crispin doesn't really know if it even exists, let alone how to get there with Troth in tow. Yet, reaching this fantastic land of Bear's stories is the only recourse open to Crispin, and he must try.

As in the second book of this trilogy, Crispin: At the Edge of the World, it doesn't take the hero of our story very long to fall in with a group that is not as wholesome as they initially appear. Crispin finds himself led, only half by the threat of force, to a huge city on the French-English border where a royal wedding is to take place and Crispin's new traveling companions, musicians like he is, are to play for the princess as the kingdom officially celebrates her engagement prior to the actual marriage ceremony.

With the loud, winding streets of the big city—bustling with a cross-section of humanity unlike anything that Crispin has never witnessed—serving as the backdrop to the swift and surprising climactic action that awaits inside the city, Crispin learns that his growing suspicions about the integrity and ultimate intentions toward him of his musician comrades are based firmly in worrisome reality. He has been privy to secrets about the group that could land them all in the king's dungeon or worse, and they won't be satisfied until Crispin is silenced forever. It is in his desperate searching for aid from this pressing crisis, though, that Crispin finally locates a person who can confirm the existence of Iceland, and is actually going there. To outwit the unsavory criminals in his own traveling outfit and escape the city alive will require perhaps more savvy than Crispin has shown in any of his adventures up to this point. He will have to demonstrate uncommon bravery and quick thinking in the face of immediate death to make it out alive, and even then his destiny may not be the hopeful one that he had been fighting toward all this time.

Avi, author of more books for young readers than almost any other writer of his generation, has not failed to create a compelling atmosphere and a number of promising characters in Crispin: The End of Time. His researched knowledge of English history during the feudal area is faultless, as far as I can discern, and brings alive a time in our earth's past that is fearful and fascinating. More than any other consideration, I think it's the unique and powerful nature of their historical setting that really brings the Crispin books to life. It takes us to an exciting time in history that most of us would know next to nothing about if it weren't for books like the ones that make up this trilogy, and I would commend Avi for the meticulous work that he obviously has put into creating these Crispin stories.

Looking back on the trilogy as a whole, I have no doubt that the first book, Crispin: The Cross of Lead, is the best of the three. Avi sets up an atmosphere of suspense and deeply layered secrets in that first book that isn't fully matched in either of its successors, and I can see why it was given recognition by the Newbery Committee in 2003. In regard to Crispin: The End of Time, I would definitely give it two and a half stars, and I strongly considered rounding that rating up instead of down, which is also exactly how I viewed the middle book, Crispin: At the End of the World. It's hard for me to choose whether I thought that the second or third Crispin book was better, but I like them both, and would recommend the trilogy as a whole to anyone who craves reading about the dark mysteries of historical drama, or just loves adventure stories in general. As I see it, Avi has done a very good thing in the writing of this trilogy, and I was glad to see him earn the Newbery Medal for Crispin: The Cross of Lead after so many years of distinguished offerings to the culture of literature for young readers. At the end of the day, I say that Avi truly is an excellent writer. (less)

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Jun 09, 2012 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is a fantastic trilogy for children by the wonderful writer Avi. My 5th graders read the first book in the series Crispin: The Cross of Lead for book club last week. One of my students and I went on to read the sequel, discussing it every morning before school; then he finished the 3rd book before me and he was under orders not to talk to me about it until I finished. So we finally got to discuss the ending and we both loved the series. Great for ages 10-14, give or take a year either way.

I...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Cliff rated it 3 of 5 stars

Though I'm not sure that the story received the ending that it deserved, I was glad to finally have finished this trilogy that hadn't even been completed when I started it. Overall, Crispin's tale is certainly full of adventure and his growth seems to have been completed. Taken individually, this third book is good. But the problem is that when viewed as part of the whole, I can't help but feel a little shortchanged. The big surprise at the end of the second book would seem to point to Crispin a...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think this is my favorite of the Crispin books. I was sad to see Crispin and Trogh part ways, but was glad that Trogh herself ended up in a place where she would be accepted and needed. Crispin was mature enough to recognize where she would be safest and was willing to let her remain at the convent.

I especially enjoyed the ending and thought it appropriate, where Crispin finds the mariner from Iceland and becomes part of his crew. I can see if the story were to continue Crispin would become pa...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Kay Mcgriff rated it 5 of 5 stars

Crispin's story finally comes to an end with Crispin: The End of Time by Avi. I have followed Crispin's story from the beginning, when he fled his village after his mother's death, wondering why there was a price on his head. I watched as Bear took him in and together they joined fates and fortunes with Troth. All along the way, I hoped Crispin would finally find freedom and his place in the world.

This last book in the trilogy opens with Crispin and Troth trudging across the French countryside....more

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Dec 12, 2011 Anonymous Homeschooler rated it 4 of 5 stars

Avi was my favorite author for long time when I was younger. When finished all of his books at my library, though, I resorted to other authors. That was when I wasn’t as experienced in distinguishing the good ones from the bad. Avi slowly fell out of my favor as more and more time passed since I read one of his books.

Just recently, this book came to my library and, remembering how much I had loved Avi’s work, I read it. To my surprise, it was one of the best written books I have ever read. Sudde...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Joy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this ending to the Crispin series. We say farewell to Troth who finds acceptance and a place in a convent early on in the book. Crispin, feeling sad at her departure, falls in with a group of traveling musicians who are not what they seem. Crispin is still seeking out the faraway land of Iceland.

Like the other two books, it's fast paced and easily read in an hour or two (if you're a strong reader). Avi fills in the absence of Bear nicely. I liked the scene with Crispin and Owen and the...more

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Oct 12, 2010 Wayne rated it 4 of 5 stars

By itself, it is a great book, but it still doesn't live up to the first book in the trilogy. It has more intrigue than the second book, but does feel like an after thought. Avi could still very much pick up again where this left off and right another book. Crispin has definitely grown up since the first book, but we're still left hanging about his future. Is that a bad thing though? Instead of giving us all the answers, we are left to contemplate on what might occur. If anything the books have...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

As a poor peasant in medieval England, thirteen-year-old Crispin has barely an identity and nothing to call his own. After his mother’s death, he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and has to flee his village in order to avoid being captured and, most likely, put to death by the steward of his village. Having never left his village before and with a bounty on his head, his journey across the country-side in an attempt to gain his freedom is an exciting and terrifying one. In the course of th...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, trt-gold-star-award-winner

Reviewed by Steph for TeensReadToo.com

Crispin is on the final leg of his journey to reach freedom. He's heading for Iceland because according to his father figure, Bear, who just died, that is the last place for freedom. But the road isn't easy.

Crispin must figure out how he and Troth - his friend and companion on the road to freedom - will reach Iceland. With no money, food, or protection, the two must find a way to reach this mysterious land safely.

But when Troth decides to stay with some nuns...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: kids-books, historical-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is an amazing trilogy and really reads as one book. However, the first two also worked as stand alone novels while this one feels rushed and conciliatory. Instead of challenging the reader, Avi just piles more heartbreak and trials upon the back of this poor boy, which would be fine, except in the end we don't get rewarded for our loyal readership with the proof that Crispin's life turns around. Instead, we know he finally makes it onto a boat toward Iceland, and yes, the boat's owners are...more

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Dec 08, 2010 Cara Stone rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, late-elementary

Crispin: The end of Time finishes the trilogy with this tale of adventure and survival. The innocent Crispin and his friend, Troth, separate toward the beginning of the book and Crispin encounters a family of thieves and murderers on their way to the wedding of a rich man's daughter. There they plan to gain entry as musicians and then take the family's riches. Crispin and his new friend, a slave of the family, work to free themselves and stay alive.

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Jul 28, 2010 Ramarie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was disappointed in this last book of the trilogy; it's as if the energy of the story had petered out by the end of book two...except that book left the reader hanging with the death of Bear. In this, Crispin and Troth set out together, until Troth's healing abilities make her useful at a nunnery, so Crispin continues on alone. He falls in with a group of thieves and barely escapes from them (on a ship bound for Iceland)...and there it ended! It just didn't seem like that should be the end of...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Mia Israelsen Blackwelder rated it 3 of 5 stars

Well written like the other two , but I almost felt it was far too similar to the plot line of the second book: Crispin gets involved with a group of murderous thieves, befriends a mistreated child, and eventually escapes. I did like the open-ended conclusion because it was fitting. I wasn't too crazy about Crispin using Bear as his new guide through life instead of Jesus. But the historical part is still excellent.

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Oct 03, 2011 Inoli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: do-not-own-yet, juvenile-ya, series, historical-fiction, favorites

It's been two or three weeks now since I finished this book and the series. If this story sticks with me much longer I'll be coming back and raising the ratings. The third book seemed to enhance the enjoyment of the whole series for me. Very good story; very well conceived and written. It's emotionally accessible to the younger reader but doesn't sacrifice any of the feel for the history and living in the time. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and the Crispin series have made me add some...more

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Aug 31, 2011 Emily rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not one of my favorite trilogies or even that of Avi's. I should remember that this plot and character was written for a younger audience, however the main character lack of self-realization and confidence was enough to drive me insane and I really spent the entire three books disliking him. I would recommend Avi's true tales of history, "I Witness" for characters with more of a backbone.

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Jun 10, 2012 Sherry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, historical-fiction, young-adult-fiction, abandoned-reading

Really, who doesn't love Avi? Crispin: The Cross of Lead was the Newberry Award winner several years ago and my students couldn't wait for me to continue reading aloud. They asked to miss their next class saying, "Really, you could write a note!"

This was an audiobook from the public library and it quit working around chapter 15. Dang it...I'll have to find another and pick up where I left off.

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Dec 19, 2012 Willis rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the last of a trilogy of books and I liked this better than the 2nd but not near as much as the first. The first one is the best of the bunch by far and in reality, it didn't really need sequels to them. Avi is a good writer for youth. His books are often set in true historical settings with the story matching the times. Quick reads but good clean books.

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Jul 19, 2012 Meg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Though it was maybe the third book in the series, none of which I had read, I still enjoyed this particular installment. It's a shorter read with pretty wide spacing and font, but you can tell, even afte3r reading only one, that each book in the series is a chronicle of a new 'chapter' of Crispin's life, which probably could be put into one volume if it was so desired.

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Oct 11, 2010 Josephine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

I have to admit that while I like Crispin and his story, I was pretty disappointed with this last book in the trilogy. It felt like a shallow afterthought. I don't think I would be as disappointed had it come out sooner, but I've been waiting years for this so I was really expecting something spectacular. What I got was a book that felt very much like the first in the trilogy. I loved the first Crispin book, and I was hoping there would be more...substance (if that's the right word) to this fina...more

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Aug 12, 2010 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

This series about a teenage boy living in England on the cusp of the end of feudalism is interesting. It has mystery, adventure and intrigue, but what I found most compelling was the way the book examined the ideas of freedom and human rights. I have always like Avi as a writer. The first book won the Newbery Honor Award.

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Feb 10, 2011 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 10, 2010 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

I do not recall really liking the first Crispin book--or rather, I felt it was probably not necessarily geared for an elementary school audience because of all the difficulties Crispin had. However, I liked the second and third books in the series so perhaps I was too harsh on the first Crispin.

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Jul 26, 2012 Brandi Bette rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: booktalks-at-benicia-schools

Find out the conclusion of this is action-packed historical narrative that follows the frantic flight of a 13-year-old peasant boy, across 14th-century England after being sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit.

From Benicia Middle School Booktalks 2010-12
Benicia Public Library Call Number: X AVI

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Jun 28, 2011 Zach Naegele rated it 5 of 5 stars

In this thrilling end to the Crispin trilogy, Crispin and Troth continue their journey in a lost fashion. With no home and no one to turn to, the pair rely only know the knowledge and experience of each other to help them survive. When Crispin must travel forward on his own, he finds a group of seemingly nice travelers, but can he trust them? Crispin must make difficult decisions that can lead to life, or death.

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Nov 06, 2011 Cory Talbot rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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About Avi

Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis, but he says, "The fact is, Avi is the only name I use."
Born in 1937, Avi has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and The Crispin series. His work is very much desired by readers young and old.

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Crispin: The Cross of Lead (Crispin, #1)

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Crispin: The End of Time (Crispin #3)

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