Jacey Bedford's Journal

This is set at the time of young King Henry III's Westminster coronation in 1220. (He'd been crowned previously in 1216 – age 9 – in Gloucester when the legendary William Marshal, first Earl of Pembroke had been his regent.) Henry's early reign was beset with trouble, the Barons' War and the attempt by Prince Louis of France to take the English throne, followed the threat of incursions by Prince Llewelyn of Wales.

This is the second book featuring the teenage Locksley children – but I haven't read the first. The premise is that Robin (Hood) of Locksley and Marian have three children, Mary, John and Eleanor, the youngest, who doesn't speak and is affected by crowds. The word autistic wasn't in use in the 13^th century but it seems that she is somewhere on the spectrum.

Robin suggests to John that the young king will need some young friends, since he's constantly surrounded by older men, bishops and powerful nobles. Henry is currently too young to rule in his own right. When John takes his father at his word and encourages the young king on a tree-climbing expedition for fun, they overhear a plot and rescue a young clerk. In the ensuing action, Mary meets the knight she's been betrothed to but has never met. The children of Robin and Marian are growing up.

This would work well for YA or for smart middle-grade kids. I've enjoyed Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville books and while this is clearly aimed at younger readers, it's still very readable for adults, too. I'm a sucker for all things Robin Hood.