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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
In the autumn of 1880, five orphans are left on the steps of Amsterdam’s Little Tulip Orphanage. Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem, and Milou are each delivered in what the orphanage’s cruel matron, Elinora Gassbeek, deems “outrageous circumstances,” and all five live up to her prediction of being unadoptable. Twelve years later, the children are mostly resigned to their lack of parentage and find comfort in their sibling-like bonds. But when a suspicious potential adoptive father threatens to tear them apart, the orphans escape across the canals of Amsterdam in an adventure marked by secret clues, an abandoned windmill, a mysterious puppet maker, and a handful of very sinister adults.
To get a feel for what this book is like, think The Boxcar Children meets Dickensian fairy tale; and like The Boxcar Children, this is an absolute delight. The five unadoptable children are resourceful, compassionate, courageous, and endearingly quirky, and their heartwarming story is one of resilience, loyalty, and just enough silliness to keep it interesting. While young audiences will enjoy the outlandish names and fantastic misadventures, it was the Amsterdam setting, unique mishmash of personalities, and charming lessons on family, belonging, and fierce hope that I loved most in this book. Though parts of the story are drawn out longer than they needed to be, the ending is unexpected yet absolutely perfect. This would make a great read-aloud, with many potential conversation starters and opportunities for deep dives into history, Dutch culture, and the world of fairytales.
My Rating: 4 Stars.
This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/march-2021-quick-lit/
Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/book-corner/
To get a feel for what this book is like, think The Boxcar Children meets Dickensian fairy tale; and like The Boxcar Children, this is an absolute delight. The five unadoptable children are resourceful, compassionate, courageous, and endearingly quirky, and their heartwarming story is one of resilience, loyalty, and just enough silliness to keep it interesting. While young audiences will enjoy the outlandish names and fantastic misadventures, it was the Amsterdam setting, unique mishmash of personalities, and charming lessons on family, belonging, and fierce hope that I loved most in this book. Though parts of the story are drawn out longer than they needed to be, the ending is unexpected yet absolutely perfect. This would make a great read-aloud, with many potential conversation starters and opportunities for deep dives into history, Dutch culture, and the world of fairytales.
My Rating: 4 Stars.
This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/march-2021-quick-lit/
Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/book-corner/
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What a fun story. It is set in the lates 1800s, so the title makes sense when you think of the state of orphanages then. Many reviews are really hyper focused on this being a bad message for children in foster care today. However, this book is wildly fun fantasy and adventure and focuses on the idea of found family and loving your people. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend for middle grade readers (and adults who like middle grades books!)
Not only is this book offensive to orphans and adopted children, it also views the five "unadoptables" through a very white, ableist lens. For a more eloquent and thorough conversation on this, please go to this Twitter thread by Nicole Chung.
All children deserve to find a welcoming home, and just because a child is not adopted does not mean there is something wrong with them.
That said, I also found Milou annoying, though understandable, and liked the other children. The epilogue felt unfinished, not quite enough to provide a sense of completion, but seemingly too much information for a sequel.
All children deserve to find a welcoming home, and just because a child is not adopted does not mean there is something wrong with them.
That said, I also found Milou annoying, though understandable, and liked the other children. The epilogue felt unfinished, not quite enough to provide a sense of completion, but seemingly too much information for a sequel.
Picked up this book based on discussions about the sensitivity of its title. Entertaining children’s book with well loved themes of inventive kids banding together to find family and they bond as family through that journey with evil adults trying to thwart their efforts and adults who surprise them in good ways .
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Love a good, adventurous orphan story. The tale of 5 “Unadoptable”orphans and their search for one of their family’s and also escaping the horrible life they had before. These orphans have become the best Unconventional family and i really enjoyed reading about their misadventures. They are intelligent, resourceful and brave. You will fall in love with all of them and find yourself rooting hard for them. This was a well-written book with descriptive language and the perfect pacing.