In 1849 after the cries of "Gold!" had echoed across the continent to Boston, ships were crammed with fortune-seekers. Twelve-year-old Jack and Praiseworthy, a butler, were among those heading west. The two were attempting to make money for Jack's Aunt Arabella, so she wouldn't have to sell the old house. The picaresque tale becomes monotonous and at last draws to a close when the bygone butler weds his mistress, the aforementioned aunt. Not as original as Mr. Mysterious and Company (1962, p.176, J-54) by this author.
Pub Date: Aug. 13, 1963
ISBN: 0316286125
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1963
Unfolding with the clarity of a fairy tale, this sure-footed debut casts a delightfully spooky spell.
Targeted in a wicked scheme, five resourceful kids flee their orphanage in 1892 Amsterdam.
Each longs to be adopted, but would-be parents reject them when they see the kids’ atypical attributes: Lotta’s 12 fingers, Egg’s East Asian ancestry (other characters default to white), Fenna’s muteness, clumsy Sem’s ears, and Milou’s wild ferocity. That is, until sinister Meneer Rotman sees their remarkable gifts—but Milou’s special sense warns her that Rotman’s evil. Indeed: They discover he intends to buy them as slave labor to crew his ship. Milou, who keeps a Book of Theories regarding why her birth family hasn’t claimed her, persuades them to escape to the puppet-making Poppenmaker family she’s sure she belongs to. Loyal if not convinced, the others join her. Lotta’s math and Egg’s cartographic acumen help them follow coordinates on Milou’s mysterious timepiece to the Poppenmakers’ windmill home and puppet theater, now abandoned. Thanks to Lotta’s technical ingenuity, Egg’s artistry, Fenna’s culinary prowess, and Sem’s needlework—assisted by clockmaker and dike warden Edda Finkelstein—it’s almost home. Then Milou forgets the other orphans have family longings, and the orphans discover Rotman has not forgotten them….While the vivid, Dickensian setting—grim orphanage, icy mists, and shadowy dockyards—and quaint clockwork creations and life-size puppets spin a web of Gothic creepiness, the bonds among this found family of lively orphans add plenty of warmth and light.
Unfolding with the clarity of a fairy tale, this sure-footed debut casts a delightfully spooky spell. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11693-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Feb. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
Devourers of fractured fairy tales will enjoy this kindhearted take on two classics.
Two heroes trade places in a lightweight fairy-tale mashup.
After some magical shenanigans, Belle, the daughter of a down-on-his-luck widower, wakes up one morning lying in a fireplace and facing a woman and her two daughters, who demand that she act as their servant. Elsewhere in Reverie, Ella, an orphan with a glass leg, is being kept captive in an enchanted castle by the beast of the woods. Both girls display considerable pluck and intelligence, standard-issue characteristics in fairy-tale reimaginings. The twist comes from the introduction of a third hero—a rebellious, bad-tempered princess who’s mysteriously disappeared from the capital city of Miravale. Belle teams up with the princess’ brother, Crown Prince Amir, in an effort to discover her whereabouts and escape her own servitude. Does the missing royal have anything to do with the grumpy beast living in the cursed castle in the forest, now befriending Ella? Many readers will spot the stories’ connections long before the official reveal, but they’ll nevertheless appreciate the resourcefulness and empathy of each of the girls as they strive to overcome their magical obstacles and help those around them. Bussing takes the popular trope of reframing villains’ stories to an intriguing extreme by offering everyone (even Ella’s stepmother) sympathy and psychological motives for their misbehavior. Ella and Belle are cued white; Amir and his sister have olive skin and dark hair.
Devourers of fractured fairy tales will enjoy this kindhearted take on two classics. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593708033
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
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