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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Part fantasy, part horror. In the style of Coraline or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, this is another YA novel, not for the faint of heart.
Super creative. Definitely creepy. It's not everyday a character gets to look into the future at what she could be.
I adore Victoria! But I am not sure about the rest of it. Creepy! Full view to come.
I was shocked by how much this book pulled me in. Fairly simple story, but very well told.
A YA book that I would not recommend for people under the age of 12. If you wanna read about kid's getting tortured for their "imperfections" as a child, I would recommend reading/watching Matilda first. Poor Bruce having to eat all that chocolate cake. Anyway.
This book had a feel of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Coraline. There are a lot of similarities to Coraline, but Harry Potter has a lot of similarities to Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter is still outstanding.
I am planning on rereading it at some point to just go over the creepiness factor again.
This book had a feel of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Coraline. There are a lot of similarities to Coraline, but Harry Potter has a lot of similarities to Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter is still outstanding.
I am planning on rereading it at some point to just go over the creepiness factor again.
When I started reading this, I thought that it's exactly the kind of book I would have loved reading at this age because it was creepy and spooky and compelling. Then it got a little stranger and a little more gruesome. Then it got really disturbing and I knew had I read this book when I was the intended age, I would have had very bad dreams. As it stands, I think there are two parts that are definitely unnecessary and particularly gross. I mean, I knew the meat was probably going to be something bad but, really? It's the kids she turned into gophers? Hello Soylent Green. I would agree with some reviewers that parts of this book definitely resembled other, perhaps more polished, stories but overall it was still entertaining.
Fans of Neil Gaiman and Stephen King will adore this deliciously dark tale filled with twists, turns and things that go bump in the night! Enter the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls at your own risk for it is a place that is likely to permanently imprint itself on your mind (and possibly nightmares).
A delightfully wicked read.
A delightfully wicked read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ehhh... this is a "take it or leave it" kinda book for me.
It's interesting and definitely weird... but I don't think it's that well done.
Of course I'm not a fan of mysteries of this sort, so I may be biased.
The cover is beautiful and the illustrations are very nice.
Also some things in it are so gruesome that I would be worried about giving it even to a fifth grader. I guess they like zombies but a teacher feeding you meat from your dead friends? And staring at you and smiling wickedly while you eat? That's a bit much for me!
It's interesting and definitely weird... but I don't think it's that well done.
Of course I'm not a fan of mysteries of this sort, so I may be biased.
The cover is beautiful and the illustrations are very nice.
Also some things in it are so gruesome that I would be worried about giving it even to a fifth grader. I guess they like zombies but a teacher feeding you meat from your dead friends? And staring at you and smiling wickedly while you eat? That's a bit much for me!
Victoria's life is perfect. Everything in it is perfect. From her gleaming curls, to her organized and labeled boxes, to her white room, and her perfect grades - even the town she lives in - everything is nice and orderly, and, well, perfect. It's perfect until her best and only friend, Lawrence, goes missing.
You see, when Lawrence goes missing, no one seems to care. No one seems to even remember Lawrence. Even Victoria has to make an effort to think of 'Lawrence-things' to get a clear picture of her best friend. Victoria took Lawrence on as a "special project" and was helping him to get his act together. Lawrence had messy hair, played the piano too much, and wasn't organized and neat. Without Lawrence around, Victoria is kind of lost. So she begins an investigation on the children who've gone missing recently. Her investigation leads her right to Mrs. Cavendish's Home For Boys and Girls. You see, children seem to be disappearing and Victoria finds that they go to Mrs. Cavendish's and they either come out well-behaved and quiet or they disappear. When the adults in her town of Belleville tell her lies or warn her away from her task, she refuses to quit. She didn't get top marks in everything for nothing!
The Cavendish Home For Boys And Girls reminded me of so many other children's horror stories - especially [b:Coraline|17061|Coraline|Neil Gaiman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327871014s/17061.jpg|2834844]. There are some pretty gross things in this story that aren't comepletely evident in the beginning. Only when Victoria begins to put things together do you realize how awful things really are; we're talking bullying, physical abuse, murder, and (if you can imagine) even worse. (I'm SO glad I'm a vegetarian!)
I loved Victoria, her precociousness, her preoccupation with perfection and even her cause for questioning things that she otherwise wouldn't have. The book is probably more young-adult book than children's. The horror in it is well done and just suspenseful enough, and thought it's most definitely horror, there are funny bits in it as well. ("I am going to die," her brain recited calmly. "I am going to be stabbed until I am dead. How infuriating. I have so much left to do.")
This is Legrand's first book and I look forward to more.
You see, when Lawrence goes missing, no one seems to care. No one seems to even remember Lawrence. Even Victoria has to make an effort to think of 'Lawrence-things' to get a clear picture of her best friend. Victoria took Lawrence on as a "special project" and was helping him to get his act together. Lawrence had messy hair, played the piano too much, and wasn't organized and neat. Without Lawrence around, Victoria is kind of lost. So she begins an investigation on the children who've gone missing recently. Her investigation leads her right to Mrs. Cavendish's Home For Boys and Girls. You see, children seem to be disappearing and Victoria finds that they go to Mrs. Cavendish's and they either come out well-behaved and quiet or they disappear. When the adults in her town of Belleville tell her lies or warn her away from her task, she refuses to quit. She didn't get top marks in everything for nothing!
The Cavendish Home For Boys And Girls reminded me of so many other children's horror stories - especially [b:Coraline|17061|Coraline|Neil Gaiman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327871014s/17061.jpg|2834844]. There are some pretty gross things in this story that aren't comepletely evident in the beginning. Only when Victoria begins to put things together do you realize how awful things really are; we're talking bullying, physical abuse, murder, and (if you can imagine) even worse. (I'm SO glad I'm a vegetarian!)
I loved Victoria, her precociousness, her preoccupation with perfection and even her cause for questioning things that she otherwise wouldn't have. The book is probably more young-adult book than children's. The horror in it is well done and just suspenseful enough, and thought it's most definitely horror, there are funny bits in it as well. ("I am going to die," her brain recited calmly. "I am going to be stabbed until I am dead. How infuriating. I have so much left to do.")
This is Legrand's first book and I look forward to more.