The Many Assassinations of Samir, Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri

 A young orphan flees from some angry monks from a monastery where he had been working as an errand boy.  He is saved by a traveling merchant, Samir, who buys him from the monks for the value of six lengths of cloth. Samir calls the boy Monkey, since he wears a monk's robe, and together they travel along the Silk Road with a caravan of interesting tradesmen and women. Monkey soon figures out that his new master is not always honest in his transactions, and as a result, there are a lot of people who want to kill him.  Monkey has to decide how far he will go to help Samir in hopes of winning his own freedom. 

This is one of the Newbery Honor books this year.  I must give the committee credit for choosing something original and unique.  The setting is interesting; the Silk Road trading route in the middle ages. The author includes a note in the end explaining what the Silk Road was and how much of the setting and the ethnic groups represented were based on history.  The thing that makes the story really work, though,  are the characters of Samir and Monkey. Samir is a trickster character, but a loveable one.  He always has a good story to tell, and sometimes shows surprising willingness to forgo an advantageous trade to help someone out.  It is fun to watch Monkey slowly switch from being a self-righteous monk's apprentice to learning the art of the bargain, and, when needed, the hasty escape. I can't say I was as impressed with this book as I was with the other Newbery Honor I read recently, Simon Sort of Says, but I do appreciate that it wasn't just another social issues book. (2023, 224 p.)