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booklover160's review against another edition
3.0
I'm surprised at how much I liked this! The writing is beautiful and complex for a kid's book, but it definitely reads for kids. I loved Daisy's character despite acting rather slow at times. (She's a smart kid but had to rely on Frank for a LOT of clues. It was quite frustrating.) She handled her situation quite well and I liked how it ended. I was actually shedding a tear, sad to leave this story.
Overall, a magically book for middle grade readers! Recommended for grades 4+ (mention of death, violence, mental illness, injury.)
Overall, a magically book for middle grade readers! Recommended for grades 4+ (mention of death, violence, mental illness, injury.)
kayedacus's review against another edition
4.0
What an interesting book! When I first added this to my Goodreads list, based on the book summary, I marked it as Paranormal fiction. However, the use of the term "ghost" is misleading. I don't want to give anything away, but if you've read Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," you might have some clue as to why it isn't truly a paranormal story.
Even though my status updates show that it took me six days to read this book, it's really a pretty quick read (about 3-4 hours, depending on how fast you read)---as a novel for middle-grade/tween readers, it's not overly long. However, the length of the book and the age of the heroine, Daisy, are really the only things that mark this as a story for "younger" readers. Unsworth's writing sparkles, and she doesn't "dumb down" the language, style, or complexity of her prose in order to cater to perceptions about what young readers might and might not be able to understand. In fact, were I a middle-school English teacher, this would be a great book for the students to read with assignments to dissect the sentence and story structure, along with a nice vocabulary list to learn!
For example, after Daisy's mother disappears and James Gritting arrives, he is surprised to find Daisy on the property and tells her that no one knows she exists. Later, speaking to the topiary horse (named True), Daisy poses a deeply philosophical question and receives a equally deep answer:
In the long run, it's this idea of "keeping your Shape" that helps Daisy through some of the most harrowing parts of the book. And she's helped out along the way by Tar, the rat; Frank, a black-and-white apparition of a young woman who supposedly assisted Daisy's great-great-grandfather on his safaris/adventures; True, the topiary horse; the Hunter, a statue in the garden; and other "friends" around the estate. (Don't worry, it all makes sense in the book.)
Circling back to "The Yellow Wallpaper"---if you haven't guessed it from the fact that Daisy has never set foot outside the boundaries of the walls surrounding Brightwood, there is/are (a) character(s) with mental instability in this story. And, like that classic short story, with the narrow scope of a limited Point of View of just one character (in this case in third person, rather than first), it's hard to be sure if the narrator is 100% reliable all the time---if what's being reported as happening is really happening. Does the topiary horse really speak? Is Frank real? Is James Gritting truly not so bad, or is he masking some kind of maliciousness? Daisy lets the reader know that "The Crazy" runs strong in the Fitzjohn family. And while, for the eleven years of her life until now, Daisy has taken for granted that the way she and her mother live is normal (in an enormous manor house which Daisy can get around only by climbing over, under, and around furniture, stacks of books, and unopened delivery boxes; knowing they have a stockpile of food that could last them for years; and living life by her mother's very strict schedule), it isn't long after Gritting arrives that Daisy is forced to reconcile what she's learned (home-schooled, of course) about the rest of the world and the life she's lived up to this point.
It's her friends (the rat, the topiary horse, the ghost, the statue...) which help her see things that she's known all along but just didn't want to admit to. And all the while, she's in the middle of trying to figure out who James Gritting is, why he's there, and what he wants---and decide whether or not she should risk venturing into the outside world to get help.
All in all, a wonderful story. I look forward to reading more from this author.
Even though my status updates show that it took me six days to read this book, it's really a pretty quick read (about 3-4 hours, depending on how fast you read)---as a novel for middle-grade/tween readers, it's not overly long. However, the length of the book and the age of the heroine, Daisy, are really the only things that mark this as a story for "younger" readers. Unsworth's writing sparkles, and she doesn't "dumb down" the language, style, or complexity of her prose in order to cater to perceptions about what young readers might and might not be able to understand. In fact, were I a middle-school English teacher, this would be a great book for the students to read with assignments to dissect the sentence and story structure, along with a nice vocabulary list to learn!
For example, after Daisy's mother disappears and James Gritting arrives, he is surprised to find Daisy on the property and tells her that no one knows she exists. Later, speaking to the topiary horse (named True), Daisy poses a deeply philosophical question and receives a equally deep answer:
"If nobody knows you exist, how do you know you exist? . . . How do you know if you're real?"
"You feel the wind," he suggested. "You see the clouds passing overhead. You hear the hum of the earth turning."
"But how can you be sure?" Daisy asked. "How can you be sure you're not imagining it. Or somebody else is. What if someone is just imagining me? Like a character in a book. Do characters in books know they're only made up?" . . .
"Be still. Listen. Deep inside you, deeper than your mind and deeper than your heart, something lies hidden. Nothing can touch it, not the gardener's shears, not rain or storm, not even the boxwood blight. Can you feel it?"
Daisy felt the slow surge of her breath and the beating of hear heart. . . . She opened her eyes and stared up at the calm, endless sky until something unfurled within her that was just as calm and just as endless.
"That's your Shape," True told her. "That's how you know you exist. And you have to keep your Shape, Daisy. No matter what happens."
"I will," she said. "I promise I will."
(Kindle loc. 872--882)
In the long run, it's this idea of "keeping your Shape" that helps Daisy through some of the most harrowing parts of the book. And she's helped out along the way by Tar, the rat; Frank, a black-and-white apparition of a young woman who supposedly assisted Daisy's great-great-grandfather on his safaris/adventures; True, the topiary horse; the Hunter, a statue in the garden; and other "friends" around the estate. (Don't worry, it all makes sense in the book.)
Circling back to "The Yellow Wallpaper"---if you haven't guessed it from the fact that Daisy has never set foot outside the boundaries of the walls surrounding Brightwood, there is/are (a) character(s) with mental instability in this story. And, like that classic short story, with the narrow scope of a limited Point of View of just one character (in this case in third person, rather than first), it's hard to be sure if the narrator is 100% reliable all the time---if what's being reported as happening is really happening. Does the topiary horse really speak? Is Frank real? Is James Gritting truly not so bad, or is he masking some kind of maliciousness? Daisy lets the reader know that "The Crazy" runs strong in the Fitzjohn family. And while, for the eleven years of her life until now, Daisy has taken for granted that the way she and her mother live is normal (in an enormous manor house which Daisy can get around only by climbing over, under, and around furniture, stacks of books, and unopened delivery boxes; knowing they have a stockpile of food that could last them for years; and living life by her mother's very strict schedule), it isn't long after Gritting arrives that Daisy is forced to reconcile what she's learned (home-schooled, of course) about the rest of the world and the life she's lived up to this point.
It's her friends (the rat, the topiary horse, the ghost, the statue...) which help her see things that she's known all along but just didn't want to admit to. And all the while, she's in the middle of trying to figure out who James Gritting is, why he's there, and what he wants---and decide whether or not she should risk venturing into the outside world to get help.
All in all, a wonderful story. I look forward to reading more from this author.
queen_squid's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
tcbueti's review against another edition
5.0
Engrossing and charmingly original. Beautifully written.
Daisy has never left Brightwood, living there with her reclusive artist mom, who makes a box of every day so she doesn't lose the memory, after losing her whole living (even though rich) family as a child when their yacht exploded.
Then one day her mom leaves, off her usual shop schedule, and a man appears. Who is he and what does he want?
Ominous. Great. "No one knows you exist."
Daisy not entirely alone: she has her pet rat, Tar, who grades food, water and dirt with relish. She has a lovely horse topiary friend, True, which leads to one of the saddest parts. (And a great discussion of how you know you're real and keeping your "shape") A boy in a portrait. And a black and white girl--great character " may I be honest?"--( Polly) Frank, who took the pictures and saved the life of Clarence, the (clueless) family explorer/adventurer.
And she has her courage.
Plot issue: what did she think would happen in the temple trap? Kill him? Would she have done that on purpose? If not, he's trapped in the house.
Problem: the Crazy. A streak of madness, sociopath, no empathy or extreme sense of entitlement. Ordering troops to their death. Causing "accidents" to get people out of the way. Runs in their family; skips generations (HAS it skipped her mom or not?). Bad portrayal of mental illness.
But people are planning to make sure Daisy and her mom have a less reclusive life going forward.Cf "Room"? Her mum was considering letting her come to the shops.
Daisy has never left Brightwood, living there with her reclusive artist mom, who makes a box of every day so she doesn't lose the memory, after losing her whole living (even though rich) family as a child when their yacht exploded.
Then one day her mom leaves, off her usual shop schedule, and a man appears. Who is he and what does he want?
Ominous. Great. "No one knows you exist."
Daisy not entirely alone: she has her pet rat, Tar, who grades food, water and dirt with relish. She has a lovely horse topiary friend, True, which leads to one of the saddest parts. (And a great discussion of how you know you're real and keeping your "shape") A boy in a portrait. And a black and white girl--great character " may I be honest?"--( Polly) Frank, who took the pictures and saved the life of Clarence, the (clueless) family explorer/adventurer.
And she has her courage.
Plot issue: what did she think would happen in the temple trap? Kill him? Would she have done that on purpose? If not, he's trapped in the house.
Problem: the Crazy. A streak of madness, sociopath, no empathy or extreme sense of entitlement. Ordering troops to their death. Causing "accidents" to get people out of the way. Runs in their family; skips generations (HAS it skipped her mom or not?). Bad portrayal of mental illness.
But people are planning to make sure Daisy and her mom have a less reclusive life going forward.Cf "Room"? Her mum was considering letting her come to the shops.
lucyannunwin's review against another edition
5.0
It’s rare in fiction you can say your favourite characters are a hedge and a rodent; but True, the topiary horse, is heartbreakingly brave and honest, and Tar, the black rat, has a delicious love of language almost as obsessive as his appreciation of filthy food. These are the kind of characters that populate this magical tale, just as they populate the secret, lonely world of Daisy Fitzjohn.
Daisy is an 11 year old, born and brought up in her mother’s grand old house; Brightwood Hall. But she has never left its grounds, or even met another human being besides her mum. Instead her friends are the pictures on the wall, the animals that live on the grounds, and imaginary friends that cajole and encourage her. Her unique and fragile existence is uprooted one day, when her mum fails to return from a shopping trip, and a strange man turns up at Brightwood Hall instead.
This beautiful, adventurous, existential tale is captivating from beginning to end, full of characters to feel for; from Daisy’s damaged mother, to the creatures of her imagination. I’m constantly looking for books to read to my 5-year-old, and I think she is still a little young for the emotional punch of this book - it had me sobbing by the end. But I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult, and I already look forward to sharing it with her, perhaps from 8 upwards.
Daisy is an 11 year old, born and brought up in her mother’s grand old house; Brightwood Hall. But she has never left its grounds, or even met another human being besides her mum. Instead her friends are the pictures on the wall, the animals that live on the grounds, and imaginary friends that cajole and encourage her. Her unique and fragile existence is uprooted one day, when her mum fails to return from a shopping trip, and a strange man turns up at Brightwood Hall instead.
This beautiful, adventurous, existential tale is captivating from beginning to end, full of characters to feel for; from Daisy’s damaged mother, to the creatures of her imagination. I’m constantly looking for books to read to my 5-year-old, and I think she is still a little young for the emotional punch of this book - it had me sobbing by the end. But I thoroughly enjoyed it as an adult, and I already look forward to sharing it with her, perhaps from 8 upwards.
kimily's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book as an uncorrected digital proof from the publisher, via Edelweiss.
Daisy Fitzjohn knows there are two worlds: the outside world and the world of her home, a secluded mansion called Brightwood Hall. But only Brightwood is real for Daisy--she’s never once set foot outside its grounds. Daisy and her mother have everything they need within Brightwood’s magnificent, half-ruined walls, including Daisy’s best friends: a talking rat named Tar and the ghost of a long-ago explorer who calls herself Frank.
When Daisy’s mother leaves one morning, a peculiar visitor, James Gritting, arrives on the estate, claiming to be a distant cousin. But as the days tick by and Daisy’s mother doesn’t return, Gritting becomes more and more menacing. He wants Brightwood for himself, and he will do anything to get it.
At its heart, Brightwood is a tale about mental illness and coming to terms with one’s past. Through no fault of her own, our main character, Daisy, finds herself isolated at Brightwood. She’s never had contact with a human being besides her mother, and her friends include a rat, a statue, and a topiary horse. When her mother disappears and a mysterious stranger shows up at the house, Daisy is forced to not only fight for her life, but to confront the fact that her life is not normal, and that her mother may have mental problems. Daisy’s internal monologue is smart, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking. The interactions with her “friends” depict Daisy’s frustration at having no one from her own peer group to communicate with. There are sections of the book that depict some dark topics, but not in a way that would be outside the understanding of a middle-grader. Some mysteries are allowed to remain mysterious, such as the identity of Daisy’s father, but I love a book that isn’t afraid to leave some strings untied. I would recommend this book to kids 8 and older, who enjoy an (at times dark) adventure.
Daisy Fitzjohn knows there are two worlds: the outside world and the world of her home, a secluded mansion called Brightwood Hall. But only Brightwood is real for Daisy--she’s never once set foot outside its grounds. Daisy and her mother have everything they need within Brightwood’s magnificent, half-ruined walls, including Daisy’s best friends: a talking rat named Tar and the ghost of a long-ago explorer who calls herself Frank.
When Daisy’s mother leaves one morning, a peculiar visitor, James Gritting, arrives on the estate, claiming to be a distant cousin. But as the days tick by and Daisy’s mother doesn’t return, Gritting becomes more and more menacing. He wants Brightwood for himself, and he will do anything to get it.
At its heart, Brightwood is a tale about mental illness and coming to terms with one’s past. Through no fault of her own, our main character, Daisy, finds herself isolated at Brightwood. She’s never had contact with a human being besides her mother, and her friends include a rat, a statue, and a topiary horse. When her mother disappears and a mysterious stranger shows up at the house, Daisy is forced to not only fight for her life, but to confront the fact that her life is not normal, and that her mother may have mental problems. Daisy’s internal monologue is smart, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking. The interactions with her “friends” depict Daisy’s frustration at having no one from her own peer group to communicate with. There are sections of the book that depict some dark topics, but not in a way that would be outside the understanding of a middle-grader. Some mysteries are allowed to remain mysterious, such as the identity of Daisy’s father, but I love a book that isn’t afraid to leave some strings untied. I would recommend this book to kids 8 and older, who enjoy an (at times dark) adventure.
libscote's review against another edition
4.0
Daisy Fitzjohn lives with her mother at Brightwood, an old manor house. For eleven years, she has never left the house, and she and her mother have had a particular routine. One Monday, her mother breaks the routine and she doesn't come back from a trip to the store. Instead, a man claiming to be a distant cousin shows up. Does he have good intentions?
This story touched on loss, mental illness, and a bit on hoarding. I'm not sure I really liked mental illness being called "The Crazy", but overall, it was a thriller with heart.
This story touched on loss, mental illness, and a bit on hoarding. I'm not sure I really liked mental illness being called "The Crazy", but overall, it was a thriller with heart.
teenlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Respectable kids fiction book: Daisy and her mother are the only ones to live in a rambling mansion and unkept grounds. It isn't quite Grey Gardens, After a freak accident while a child, Caroline (Daisy's mom) over buys in bulk, makes a memory box for each day, and Daisy has never left the grounds in her life. Caroline doesn't return one morning and Daisy soon sees a mysterious man about the grounds.
Imagination sustains Daisy with friends from animals, shrubs, and paintings. Not 100% medically realistic ending, but a nice wrap up.
Imagination sustains Daisy with friends from animals, shrubs, and paintings. Not 100% medically realistic ending, but a nice wrap up.
moggmogg's review
4.0
Daisy has always lived on her family's estate, Brightwood, with her mother. In fact, Daisy has never left Brightwood in all her 11 years. When her mother fails to return from town and a menacing cousin arrives to Brightwood; Daisy must find the strength to save herself and leave Brightwood to find her mother. MG Imagination; Survival; Family