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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I'm not sure about this one. On one hand I disliked Victoria. On the other hand this was a creepy, creepy mystery. It was well written though and did I mention creepy?
Wowowowowowowoowowow creepy kinda reminded me Coraline... In someway also the Theif of Always....maybe cause a house takes kids in, but they never come out... also cause everything is so uuu STRANG...
I had to write a letter to the main character for school, and in the begging in I thought Victoria was "mean" but later iI felt bad cause she seemed to become better at the end and she wasn't only friends with the Lawrence guy cause she wanted to fix him but ugh she also ACTUALLY because friends cause she really cared about saving the missing people....
I really liked the idea of EXTRA SMILLING FACES cause that is really creepy + WHEN EVERYSINGLE LIVING HUMAN has the "EXTRA SMILLING FACE" ya know? Hehe...
Uhhh that Peter dude is really annoying buy he added some creepiness to the story... at least I think so... but if I were THERE I probably wish he wasn't there...
It also kinda sad when shorelines shorelines ACTUALLY has friends... hehe
I'm also a bit scared about the ending, the "It's a puppet. For the Children, you see. They love to play"
I'm guessing that she's the new owner and she's gonna take kids and make em perfect and those extra smilling people will countinue... and then kids will get lost, someone will notice and it would continue like I'd did in this book... but I dunno...
Yayayayayayyayayayayayayayayaya I finished a book! PARRTTTYYYYYYY YAYAYAYYAYAYAYA teehee
I had to write a letter to the main character for school, and in the begging in I thought Victoria was "mean" but later iI felt bad cause she seemed to become better at the end and she wasn't only friends with the Lawrence guy cause she wanted to fix him but ugh she also ACTUALLY because friends cause she really cared about saving the missing people....
I really liked the idea of EXTRA SMILLING FACES cause that is really creepy + WHEN EVERYSINGLE LIVING HUMAN has the "EXTRA SMILLING FACE" ya know? Hehe...
Uhhh that Peter dude is really annoying buy he added some creepiness to the story... at least I think so... but if I were THERE I probably wish he wasn't there...
It also kinda sad when shorelines shorelines ACTUALLY has friends... hehe
I'm also a bit scared about the ending, the "It's a puppet. For the Children, you see. They love to play"
I'm guessing that she's the new owner and she's gonna take kids and make em perfect and those extra smilling people will countinue... and then kids will get lost, someone will notice and it would continue like I'd did in this book... but I dunno...
Yayayayayayyayayayayayayayayaya I finished a book! PARRTTTYYYYYYY YAYAYAYYAYAYAYA teehee
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To paraphrase Indiana Jones, "Why did it have to be bugs?!" Yeah, if I had known about that aspect of this book I probably wouldn't have read it. Fellow bugphobics, be warned.
I pushed through, though, because the book is pretty great otherwise. The writing style reminded me SO much of Roald Dahl — a very "classic" feel (although it takes place in a modern setting, the writing makes it feel almost timeless, and the illustrations add to that feeling even more) and super creepy. It's dark and full of horrible stuff kids suffer at the hands of adults. I felt like the last 25% or so seemed a bit rushed, but overall it was an enjoyable read (except for the bugs thing — seriously, ANYTHING but that).
I pushed through, though, because the book is pretty great otherwise. The writing style reminded me SO much of Roald Dahl — a very "classic" feel (although it takes place in a modern setting, the writing makes it feel almost timeless, and the illustrations add to that feeling even more) and super creepy. It's dark and full of horrible stuff kids suffer at the hands of adults. I felt like the last 25% or so seemed a bit rushed, but overall it was an enjoyable read (except for the bugs thing — seriously, ANYTHING but that).
I haven't read a creepy children's book in ages and this was the perfect one. Just the right amount of spook and a great ending with lots of adventure and bugs bugs bugs. I can even imagine what the film would look like - if they made one.
What a deliciously horrible antagonist Mrs. Cavendish is in this story about a girl, Victoria, and her friend, Lawrence. Victoria strives for perfection and control in everything, and she has little to no patience for anything that deviates from her ideals. Lawrence is scruffy, untidy, and loves (shock!) music and playing the piano. Victoria and Lawrence live in Belleville, where everyone in town wants everything to be uncomplicated and good-looking, and conventional. Anything else is frowned upon. Victoria begins noticing that classmates who don't conform have disappeared, including Lawrence. Victoria sets her mind to figuring out what's happened.
I totally enjoyed this tale of disappearances, increasing tension, many, many bugs, torture, mutilation, abandonment, fear and lack of empathy. Victoria embodies many of the town's sentiments about difference and nonconformity for much of the novel, making her a somewhat difficult protagonist to like, and it's interesting watching her wrestle with her biases and grow up a little while she tries to find and rescue Lawrence. This is a surprisingly dark and frightening book for a middle grade audience, and I like that it's precisely the things that made the children difficult, such as loving and playing music, that are important for their survival and freedom.
I totally enjoyed this tale of disappearances, increasing tension, many, many bugs, torture, mutilation, abandonment, fear and lack of empathy.
Spoiler
And a persistent and unbeatable enemy.
Originally posted at Nose in a Book(blog)
This book came highly recommended to me by one of my dear friends. Even with that recommendation I was wary of starting. Mostly because my TBR list is already forever long and I put a lot of thought into adding another book to the list. Okay, who are we kidding, of course I add a lot of books to it. Reason my Goodreads list is currently pushing 400. All of that being said, I am thrilled my friend recommended this book to me. I can tell you I would have never ever picked this up on my own for various reasons; however, I am glad I did. This is a really good/thrilling YA book.
The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls is at its heart the story of Victoria. Victoria who hates most things, including her only true friend Lawrence. She doesn’t even consider Lawrence a friend, she considers him a project that she needs to fix because he isn’t perfect and often troublesome (to her). One day, however, Lawrence disappears. His parents have a cover story, but even to Victoria the story sounds fake. She is convinced there is more to this story than Lawrence’s parents are letting on. This becomes more obvious when more of Victoria’s class disappears.
Victoria starts to research this when it becomes obvious. She notices people go into the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, but they rarely come out. When Victoria begins to research this, she notices she has much in common with the owner of the home, Mrs. Cavendish. This is a fact that ends up worrying Victoria, because she hates who Mrs. Cavendish is. Slowly Victoria herself becomes trapped in the Home and starts to break her down. Victoria, the one who always must be strong, starts to break down because of what the house, and Mrs. Cavendish, do to people once they become stuck there.
The ending is amazing and very fitting to the story and will make you look at common aspects of your house twice. Also, have I mentioned the illustrations? They are perfect and even fit the story perfectly. Sarah Watts perfectly captured the tone of the story in an illustration. I only wish Legrand had other YA/MG books out right now for me to read!
This book came highly recommended to me by one of my dear friends. Even with that recommendation I was wary of starting. Mostly because my TBR list is already forever long and I put a lot of thought into adding another book to the list. Okay, who are we kidding, of course I add a lot of books to it. Reason my Goodreads list is currently pushing 400. All of that being said, I am thrilled my friend recommended this book to me. I can tell you I would have never ever picked this up on my own for various reasons; however, I am glad I did. This is a really good/thrilling YA book.
The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls is at its heart the story of Victoria. Victoria who hates most things, including her only true friend Lawrence. She doesn’t even consider Lawrence a friend, she considers him a project that she needs to fix because he isn’t perfect and often troublesome (to her). One day, however, Lawrence disappears. His parents have a cover story, but even to Victoria the story sounds fake. She is convinced there is more to this story than Lawrence’s parents are letting on. This becomes more obvious when more of Victoria’s class disappears.
Victoria starts to research this when it becomes obvious. She notices people go into the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, but they rarely come out. When Victoria begins to research this, she notices she has much in common with the owner of the home, Mrs. Cavendish. This is a fact that ends up worrying Victoria, because she hates who Mrs. Cavendish is. Slowly Victoria herself becomes trapped in the Home and starts to break her down. Victoria, the one who always must be strong, starts to break down because of what the house, and Mrs. Cavendish, do to people once they become stuck there.
The ending is amazing and very fitting to the story and will make you look at common aspects of your house twice. Also, have I mentioned the illustrations? They are perfect and even fit the story perfectly. Sarah Watts perfectly captured the tone of the story in an illustration. I only wish Legrand had other YA/MG books out right now for me to read!
Creeeeeeeepy and nightmarish! Only librarians can come up with stuff like that ... ;-)
This book is so creepy. I mean, really. I am a 25 year old woman and I was creeped out by parts of this book. The author does such a good job of just making these monsters. Imagine Stepford Wives meets Coraline in the form of a kid's book and well, you're close to the Cavendish Home.
Victoria is an A Student. She is good, and she likes to be her best, and she is friends with a somewhat messy (if musically gifted) Lawrence. One day, Lawrence disappears, and she decides to find out what happens-only that involves being not quite so perfect and dealing with Mrs. Cavendish and her creppy home.
The illustrations perfectly match the tone of the book, and there are little illustrated bugs on some of the pages, to match the bugs in the story. If you get creeped out easily, or have trouble sleeping, I'm not sure I would recommend this, but if you want a somewhat scary tale for a cold night, this might be what you are looking for this winter:)
Victoria is an A Student. She is good, and she likes to be her best, and she is friends with a somewhat messy (if musically gifted) Lawrence. One day, Lawrence disappears, and she decides to find out what happens-only that involves being not quite so perfect and dealing with Mrs. Cavendish and her creppy home.
The illustrations perfectly match the tone of the book, and there are little illustrated bugs on some of the pages, to match the bugs in the story. If you get creeped out easily, or have trouble sleeping, I'm not sure I would recommend this, but if you want a somewhat scary tale for a cold night, this might be what you are looking for this winter:)