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robin_figliaunica's review against another edition
5.0
Gli inadottabili
Hana Tooke, illustrazioni di Ayesha L. Rubio
edito @rizzolilibri
Amsterdam, 1892.
Cinque strani neonati arrivano all’orfanotrofio del Piccolo Tulipano.
Milou, Dita, Oval, Finny e Sem vengono definiti “inadottabili, casi disperati di cui l’arcigna direttrice, la signora Gassbeek, non riesce a liberarsi.
Loro però sono uniti come fratelli e nell’amicizia hanno trovato la forza di resistere alle dure mansioni che vengono assegnate.
Si avvicina un commerciante di zucchero in abiti eleganti e baffi che non ispirano fiducia, propone di adottarli in gruppo, potrebbe essere la loro occasione di diventare una famiglia ma… è qui che inizia l’avventura tra i canali e i mulini a vento della città.
Per saperne come va a finire, non vi resta che leggerlo!
È un romanzo per ragazzi, una storia ben scritta, con piccoli personaggi ma grandi personalità. Ci sono suspence, colpi di scena e un pizzico di fantasy, adatto ai giovani lettori.
Hana Tooke, illustrazioni di Ayesha L. Rubio
edito @rizzolilibri
Amsterdam, 1892.
Cinque strani neonati arrivano all’orfanotrofio del Piccolo Tulipano.
Milou, Dita, Oval, Finny e Sem vengono definiti “inadottabili, casi disperati di cui l’arcigna direttrice, la signora Gassbeek, non riesce a liberarsi.
Loro però sono uniti come fratelli e nell’amicizia hanno trovato la forza di resistere alle dure mansioni che vengono assegnate.
Si avvicina un commerciante di zucchero in abiti eleganti e baffi che non ispirano fiducia, propone di adottarli in gruppo, potrebbe essere la loro occasione di diventare una famiglia ma… è qui che inizia l’avventura tra i canali e i mulini a vento della città.
Per saperne come va a finire, non vi resta che leggerlo!
È un romanzo per ragazzi, una storia ben scritta, con piccoli personaggi ma grandi personalità. Ci sono suspence, colpi di scena e un pizzico di fantasy, adatto ai giovani lettori.
jacquelinecg's review against another edition
5.0
《5/5》
Una historia muy tierna y llena de emociones para un grupo de niños que busca un lugar para vivir y ser felices.
Una historia muy tierna y llena de emociones para un grupo de niños que busca un lugar para vivir y ser felices.
firefox's review against another edition
2.0
Not my cuppa. Does include Found Family tho! We love that.
augustfairy's review against another edition
4.0
A lot of people criticizing this book don’t seem to realize that a lot of kids in the system don’t get adopted. Just because someone writes a book about them, doesn’t mean it’s harmful, if done correctly, which in my opinion, this book was.
The message of this story is that the things that make you unique are also the things that you can make use of. That these things don’t necessarily define you (Lotta’s smartness was more important than her fingers, Milou’s imagination and storytelling abilities were more important than her unruliness etc etc). That found family can be anything and it doesn’t have to be a traditional one, just people who love you and wouldn’t leave you.
(And someone did adopt all of them in the end especially because of their outside the box thinking and skillfulness.)
When it comes to the plot, yes, there were plot holes and at times I felt some things were described in too much detail while other things were left vague. Note, that this is a children’s book and some of the things that kids enjoy reading, adults might not and vice versa so I attributed this to the genre.
Overall, the prose was beautifully written, the story was interesting and well thought out and the message of the book was good.
(I don’t know if people who didn’t get it just didn’t make it to the end - some admittedly said so - or just got too offended in the beginning to see the big picture without that negative attitude. Admittedly, I was also skeptical in the beginning about the representation of orphans but in the end I do think the writer did a great job.)
The message of this story is that the things that make you unique are also the things that you can make use of. That these things don’t necessarily define you (Lotta’s smartness was more important than her fingers, Milou’s imagination and storytelling abilities were more important than her unruliness etc etc). That found family can be anything and it doesn’t have to be a traditional one, just people who love you and wouldn’t leave you.
(And someone did adopt all of them in the end especially because of their outside the box thinking and skillfulness.)
When it comes to the plot, yes, there were plot holes and at times I felt some things were described in too much detail while other things were left vague. Note, that this is a children’s book and some of the things that kids enjoy reading, adults might not and vice versa so I attributed this to the genre.
Overall, the prose was beautifully written, the story was interesting and well thought out and the message of the book was good.
(I don’t know if people who didn’t get it just didn’t make it to the end - some admittedly said so - or just got too offended in the beginning to see the big picture without that negative attitude. Admittedly, I was also skeptical in the beginning about the representation of orphans but in the end I do think the writer did a great job.)
dutchie84's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nina_reads_books's review against another edition
4.0
Egbert, Lotta, Sem, Fenna, and Milou are called the “Unadoptables” by Matron Gassbeek who runs the Little Tulip orphanage in Amsterdam. Each child was left at the orphanage 11 years ago in unusual circumstances and none have been adopted yet. They are firm friends and work together against the awful Matron who is secretly profiting from the adoption process. Milou is often the spokesperson and she clings fast to her belief that her parents will be back at any moment to save her.
One day the Matron sells all five children to an evil merchant who wants to use them as slaves on his ship. Milou convinces the children to plan a daring escape and using a recently found clue they set off to find Milou’s parents. Eventually they come across an abandoned windmill which belongs to Bram Poppenmaker (a master puppeteer) who the children believe is Milou’s father. They hide out at the windmill and try to fend off attention from a nosy neighbour, the orphanage and the evil Meneer Rotman.
This is a thrilling tale of adventure and the joy and companionship of a “found” family. These five children each with different skills and talents are all instrumental in saving the day. They feel they are siblings and their love and devotion to each other was so heart-warming.
There seems to be quite a divisive take on this book. There are numerous low reviews on Goodreads focussing on the title The Unadoptables and the implication from the blurb that because the five children are each a little “different” that this book is a negative take on adopted children. I know I can’t speak for adopted children or adoptive parents but I could only see positives from the book. The awful Matron is a symbol for so many stories that have come before – the terrible authority figure that punishes the orphan child before they are finally undone.
The love that these five children have for each other shines through and I felt this middle grade fiction was a lovely and entertaining journey.
One day the Matron sells all five children to an evil merchant who wants to use them as slaves on his ship. Milou convinces the children to plan a daring escape and using a recently found clue they set off to find Milou’s parents. Eventually they come across an abandoned windmill which belongs to Bram Poppenmaker (a master puppeteer) who the children believe is Milou’s father. They hide out at the windmill and try to fend off attention from a nosy neighbour, the orphanage and the evil Meneer Rotman.
This is a thrilling tale of adventure and the joy and companionship of a “found” family. These five children each with different skills and talents are all instrumental in saving the day. They feel they are siblings and their love and devotion to each other was so heart-warming.
There seems to be quite a divisive take on this book. There are numerous low reviews on Goodreads focussing on the title The Unadoptables and the implication from the blurb that because the five children are each a little “different” that this book is a negative take on adopted children. I know I can’t speak for adopted children or adoptive parents but I could only see positives from the book. The awful Matron is a symbol for so many stories that have come before – the terrible authority figure that punishes the orphan child before they are finally undone.
The love that these five children have for each other shines through and I felt this middle grade fiction was a lovely and entertaining journey.
thelilbulldozer's review against another edition
3.0
My Rating: 3 Stars
Granny's Rating: 4 Stars
Pretty good until the end, I didn't like the ending.
Granny's Rating: 4 Stars
Pretty good until the end, I didn't like the ending.
adamskiboy528491's review against another edition
3.0
Losing your parents is no fun. Being with your friends is another story. [b:The Unadoptables|51838643|The Unadoptables|Hana Tooke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1583882431l/51838643._SX50_.jpg|72922909] by [a:Hana Tooke|19473508|Hana Tooke|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1566126762p2/19473508.jpg] is like if A Series of Unfortunate Events had a worthy successor!
In the late 1880s, five children (Lotta, Egg, Fenna, Sem and the lead character Milou) escape from a neglectful orphanage & a sinister gentleman who wants to tear them apart & embark on an adventure with hunting werewolves to hot air balloon specialists, clockmakers & marionette masters. It's a doorstopper of a book that delivers the best brand of the adventure genre. I love the 19th-century style illustrations thanks to Ayesha L. Rubio - it makes you want to visit Amsterdam! Each character is so unique in their role of being different from one another. Lotta has twelve fingers, Fenna is mute, Sem has clumsy ears, Egg has East-Asian ancestry, and Milou has a wild attitude.
A stunningly large number of heroes and their coteries lack in the parent department, either through death or in that they just aren't talked about. Even if both parents are alive, they may well be emotionally or physically distant. This is a very convenient way for characters to be able to run off in the middle of the night to fight Evil, get sucked into another world, etc. without having anyone responsible for them making a fuss. One of the first things a creator of stories about children or teens having adventures needs to do is explain a lack of parental involvement. There are so many twists & turns in this book; I don't want to give anything else away.
A large sum of people has criticised the use of the title as it being offensive. But a reminder, this is only a work of fiction. These unfortunate implications of disabilities & stereotypes are unlikely to happen in children's literature, though. The children (both in-universe & out-universe) can sometimes have different strengths and flaws which round them out and make them generally equal to the rest of the characters. In summary, it's a lovely tale full of friendship & adventure that deserves to be on every child's lap.
lmn9812's review against another edition
5.0
OH MY GOUDA. This book, guys. I’ve already gushed about in on twitter, so sorry if you’ve already seen this before, but I need to talk about this book. THE UNADOPTABLES tells the story of five orphans in 19th century Amsterdam who are thrown into an adventure when they are forced to escape their orphanage one night. I visited Amsterdam a few years ago, and fell in love with it, so reading a novel set there was just fantastic. Hana captures the feel and essence of this magical city with ease, transporting the reader not only geographically but also back time. The world-building was complex and multi-layered, and partly because of this I sunk completely into the story.
This neatly moves us on to the next point of my gush-fest: the plot. It was compelling and twisty-turny and pace-y and unputdownable. Basically, it was a fantastic story. ALSO, there was a fortune teller. On to our main characters: we have five of them, which was daunting (I have a hard time keeping up when there are lots of characters). However, each of the unadaptable orphans were so different from each other, and they were complex and 3D people, so it was very easy to keep track of who was speaking and to whom. I also adored the diversity of the MC’s–we have a person of colour, a disabled character, and a character with selective mutism.
FINALLY, Hana’s writing was exquisite. This was one of those stories where certain sentences and turns of phrase made me OOH and AHH with appreciation (and a little bit of writerly jealously). This has been one of my favourite reads of 2020 so far; it is most definitely a classic in the making, and you need to read it when it comes out in July. I have pre-ordered, and I will definitely be re-reading it in the near future.
This neatly moves us on to the next point of my gush-fest: the plot. It was compelling and twisty-turny and pace-y and unputdownable. Basically, it was a fantastic story. ALSO, there was a fortune teller. On to our main characters: we have five of them, which was daunting (I have a hard time keeping up when there are lots of characters). However, each of the unadaptable orphans were so different from each other, and they were complex and 3D people, so it was very easy to keep track of who was speaking and to whom. I also adored the diversity of the MC’s–we have a person of colour, a disabled character, and a character with selective mutism.
FINALLY, Hana’s writing was exquisite. This was one of those stories where certain sentences and turns of phrase made me OOH and AHH with appreciation (and a little bit of writerly jealously). This has been one of my favourite reads of 2020 so far; it is most definitely a classic in the making, and you need to read it when it comes out in July. I have pre-ordered, and I will definitely be re-reading it in the near future.
engrossedreader's review against another edition
4.0
I was hooked immediately from the lovely cover, to the opening of The Unadoptables where we are tantalising introduced to these unique and special children as they are found on the orphanage steps. Unfortunately, their adverse start in life is not reversed, instead they are subjected to a life of austerity and suffering under the helm of a sadistic matron.
“But there was no disguising what they really were scruffy, hungry, desperate orphans”
Egbert, Lotta, Sem, Fenna, and Milou are labelled The Unadoptables as Matron likes to ensure that orphans do not remain at Little Tulip orphanage for long and are adopted as soon as possible. However, this group of friends are the oldest due to their quirks, differences and attitude making them less appealing and therefore adoptable to prospective parents.
“Why would a man who so obviously disliked children want to adopt one?”
Matron dislike of opposition and children who advocate for themselves, leads to the decision to seek servitude rather than a home for our brave band of friends.
What follows is a journey of almost epic proportions as this group are tested in their efforts to find safety, a home, and family. They flee from sinister and deadly foes, seek independence in the face of suspicion and opposition, all whilst being proactive and inventive in their search for answers to their origins and future.
“Spies are stealthy and brave. They do the jobs no one else dares do, to protect others.”
I laughed, shed a tear or two and at turns was astounded by their efforts and determination to remain free. I loved the writing, in particular the visual descriptions of characters which was skilfully complemented by the illustrations at the beginning of chapters.
“...a parody of a smile, Milou realized much like the matron’s: all teeth and no soul.”
This is a magical tale about dreamers who keep hold of that spark of joy in the face of desperate times, nurture it and encourage others. It emphases the importance of how imagination, the power of belief and the support of others can sustain you. Of how friendship is nourished not because of proximity but due to mutual affection and admiration. Above all we see the importance of loving others, just as they are including their strength and weaknesses. Culminating in the conclusion, that family is the definition you make.
A wonderful whimsical tale that I adored. A delight to read. I hope to read more about this group of resilient and resourceful children.
4 Stars - I Loved It
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s for a digital advance review copy in return for a candid review.
Read more reviews on the blog
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“But there was no disguising what they really were scruffy, hungry, desperate orphans”
Egbert, Lotta, Sem, Fenna, and Milou are labelled The Unadoptables as Matron likes to ensure that orphans do not remain at Little Tulip orphanage for long and are adopted as soon as possible. However, this group of friends are the oldest due to their quirks, differences and attitude making them less appealing and therefore adoptable to prospective parents.
“Why would a man who so obviously disliked children want to adopt one?”
Matron dislike of opposition and children who advocate for themselves, leads to the decision to seek servitude rather than a home for our brave band of friends.
What follows is a journey of almost epic proportions as this group are tested in their efforts to find safety, a home, and family. They flee from sinister and deadly foes, seek independence in the face of suspicion and opposition, all whilst being proactive and inventive in their search for answers to their origins and future.
“Spies are stealthy and brave. They do the jobs no one else dares do, to protect others.”
I laughed, shed a tear or two and at turns was astounded by their efforts and determination to remain free. I loved the writing, in particular the visual descriptions of characters which was skilfully complemented by the illustrations at the beginning of chapters.
“...a parody of a smile, Milou realized much like the matron’s: all teeth and no soul.”
This is a magical tale about dreamers who keep hold of that spark of joy in the face of desperate times, nurture it and encourage others. It emphases the importance of how imagination, the power of belief and the support of others can sustain you. Of how friendship is nourished not because of proximity but due to mutual affection and admiration. Above all we see the importance of loving others, just as they are including their strength and weaknesses. Culminating in the conclusion, that family is the definition you make.
A wonderful whimsical tale that I adored. A delight to read. I hope to read more about this group of resilient and resourceful children.
4 Stars - I Loved It
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Children’s for a digital advance review copy in return for a candid review.
Read more reviews on the blog
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook