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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
An absolutely delightful historical adventure story for middle grade readers which, with its combination of PG-rated peril and sinister characters, reminded me very much of Lemony Snicket. Following five orphans, all abandoned at the Little Tulip Orphanage in Amsterdam, as they attempt to secure their freedom from the evil orphanage matron, Mevrouw Gasbeek, and their menacing would-be adoptive parent Meneer Rotman. As someone for whom the Netherlands is a very much loved second home, I especially adored the Dutch setting. From the sprinkling of Dutch throughout the text, to the evocative descriptions of mist lying across the polder and tall, thin gabled houses leaning over the canals, it will give children a wonderfully atmospheric introduction to one of our nearest neighbours. With a wonderful central message about the value of found family, The Unadoptables is sure to delight young readers and will, I hope, be the huge success it deserves.
Thanks to Netgalley and Puffin for the chance to read this book prior to publication; all opinions are entirely my own.
Thanks to Netgalley and Puffin for the chance to read this book prior to publication; all opinions are entirely my own.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
My favorite book of 2020 so far! I want to be part of this little family and their amazing story!! I was sad to get to the end—wanted to keep reading!
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you Netgalley for this amazing ARC
My Dutch heart warmed while reading this book. I loved each and every one of the characters so much and reading it really just made me smile and made me happy. I honestly love this book.
My Dutch heart warmed while reading this book. I loved each and every one of the characters so much and reading it really just made me smile and made me happy. I honestly love this book.
Absolutely lovely – a proper adventure story, and just what I needed to read right now.
medium-paced
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Reviewing from an adoption, child welfare lens this is a frustrating book from the title to the very last page. The author falls into the same tired tropes of orphans, foster youth and adoptees needing to be either a savior or anti-christ (see Good Omens). If our Otherness isn't in service to the whole world (or at least potential adoptive family) then we are ungrateful, damaged goods and have no value as human beings. While she does make some effort to include a positive message it doesn't change the fact that the initial messages feed into adoption narratives that perpetuate misconceptions about orphans, foster youth and adoptees, their families of origin, and adoption practice in general. Not to mention her token inclusion of an East Asian adoptee and then the othering of that child because of their race and ethnicity that follows. As a book for kids I can't recommend this to ever being given to any child with family separation/loss in their history a or children who could ever come in contact with them - because often it is from other children that adoptees and foster youth first experience the painful othering and racism because of family loss. “Unadoptable” isn't a make-believe term that Tooke just made-up, there is history there. Many agencies use “Adoptable” as a term for the children they present to prospective parents. They change our stories, demographics, needs, and sugarcoat the realities of adoption to make children more "adoptable." The question of whether you were an 'unwanted throw away', 'given up as a sacrifice or for love' is something that many children with family separation/loss must contend with. Then comes the reality of who gets eventually "chosen" and who doesn't. There are hundreds of Facebook groups that promote 2nd Chance Adoptions that feed the unregulated (and often illegal) Rehoming of adoptees when adoptive parents decide they do not want the adoptee any longer. In these situations abuse of children is rampant. This is what many adoptees deal with and it pervades a child protection system in a society where children are deemed unwanted and unadoptable. With the persistence of this narrative comes little need or effort by adults in society to protect these children in cases of abuse because the adoptive parents have taken on a “difficult” child, they adopted the unadoptable. To a young adoptee “unadoptable” means undeserving of care and protection - it really just means unlovable. To have these issues used so thoughtlessly in a book for children who may have this history is devastating. Tooke seems to think her fantasies happen in a vacuum - they do not.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
In all the years that Elinora Gassbeek had been matron of the Little Tulip Orphanage, not once had the Rules of Baby Abandonment been broken. Until the summer of 1880.
I’m obsessed with «The Unadoptables» by Hanna Tooke! It’s one of the best middle-grade books I’ve read in a long time. This book had it all - adventure, friendship, family, high stakes, endearing main characters, and incredible story-telling.
Milou, Lotta, Fenna, Sem and Egg were left as babies at the Little Tulip Orphanage. But what sets them off from the other orphans is how they were left - one in a tin toolbox, one in a coal bucket, one in a picnic hamper, one in a wheat sack and one in a coffin-shaped basket. Their appearance has broken every orphanage rule. Not only it was outrageous, they also grew up to be claimed the “unadoptables” - children who stayed at the Orphanage for the longest time.
Close-knit friendships are my weakness in books, and no other genre does it better than Children's fiction. Every time I read middle grade I keep asking myself why I don’t read more of it! It always brings me so much joy to read about drama-free friendships, and it reminds me of how simple things used to be before my teenage years. Milou, Lotta, Fenna, Sem and Egg portray the relationship I always strived for - they look after each other and always put their friends first, no matter the cost.
Set in Amsterdam, during the 19th century, «The Unadoptables» has all the necessary qualities to become a new classic. This is the book children should read in school, and this is the book I would have adored as a child. We often wonder why so many people don’t read and my answer to this question is that they just haven’t picked up the right book that would’ve made them fall in love with the fictional world. I believe that «The Unadoptables» can be just that book for a lot of children out there.
In most middle-grade books I’ve read so far, the main protagonists usually embark on some sort of adventure. And that sense of the unknown, the thrill of discover are what usually pulls me into the story. The adventure in «The Unadoptables» is a little bit different than what I’m used to, but its emotional context made me fall in love with the story even more. In this book, the children are looking for their family, their parents that abandoned them 12 years ago, and more specifically, we follow Milou, who always believed that her parents left her the clues to let her know that she is loved and not forgotten.
I hope Hanna Tooke writes more books about the unadoptables and explores the stories of the other 4 children - their appearance at the orphanage was definitely under very strange circumstances and I’m very curious to see what other stories adventures and what other discoveries they will make.
Besides the adventure, this story didn’t shy away from the danger as well. The stakes were always kept very high, especially considering how emotionally invested Milou was in finding her family and learning more about them.
Like all good middle grades, this book had the exquisite villains that you were made to loath from the very beginning. This is always an important element in children’s books, as it brings unity to the main squad and you instantly grow attached to them. There was a little redeeming arc for one of the villains that I also liked, but that might be too subtle for children to notice.
And finally, «The Unadiptables» showed what it meant to be a family and how you can choose yourself a new family when the “original” one didn’t want you enough to keep you. Stories about orphans are not unusual. All I have to say is that this particular one was incredibly well. Furthermore, I never read a book with a whole cast of orphans as mains characters and I really loved how emotional and heartwarming the story was.
I have to say penguin publishing knows how to get a girl interested in a proof copy sending it with stroopwaffels (my fave's) and tea with the book tied with a beautiful gold ribbon. Nostalgia for my Dutch childhood flashed before my eyes and I had to be the one to take it home.
The book, just like it's packaging was beautiful I enjoyed the twists and turns of the orphans adventures and loved every single one of them. It was a truly lovely kids book full of adventure, wild children's imaginations and a plot twist which kept me wanting more.
Overall a very wholesome read and I hope Hana Tooke will enjoy considerable success when it is published in May 2020 can't wait to see if she writes any more.
The book, just like it's packaging was beautiful I enjoyed the twists and turns of the orphans adventures and loved every single one of them. It was a truly lovely kids book full of adventure, wild children's imaginations and a plot twist which kept me wanting more.
Overall a very wholesome read and I hope Hana Tooke will enjoy considerable success when it is published in May 2020 can't wait to see if she writes any more.