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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
Maud Mary Flynn is an orphan who doesn't get along with anyone at the Barbary Asylum. All she has ever wanted was a taste of the love, affection and luxury that other kids her age are accustomed to. So when the rich, sophisticated Hawthorne sisters arrive at the asylum, and decide to adopt her, she can't believe her luck! But Maud should know that not everything is as it seems and she may have gotten more than she bargained for.
This was such a heart-felt, engaging tale about a eleven-year old girl deprived of the necessities of childhood. The plot is unlike anything I've read before and even the mystery behind the identity of the Hawthorne sisters is something that I would not have guessed.
The writing style holds all the allure of a classic novel without the complexities of the same; thereby keeping us entranced with the storytelling. Maud's perspective on life tugs at your heartstrings and you can't help but root for her well-being. Also, Maud enjoys reading a great deal. This was yet another aspect of her personality that made her all the more endearing to me.
Without revealing too much, I'd just like to say that Hyacinth represents such toxicity, especially in the life of a child. She is selfish, manipulative, unreliable and downright devious. I was so glad that Maud and Muffet had each other, which just goes to show that children have such an honest point of view and at the end of the day, are only looking for some love and recognition.
The ending couldn't have been more perfect. I teared up a bit, just cause I was happy with how all the loose ends were tied up.
Would definitely recommend this to everyone who enjoys historical fiction, regardless of their age. There's quite a bit that you can take away from it.
Rating - 4.25 stars
This was such a heart-felt, engaging tale about a eleven-year old girl deprived of the necessities of childhood. The plot is unlike anything I've read before and even the mystery behind the identity of the Hawthorne sisters is something that I would not have guessed.
The writing style holds all the allure of a classic novel without the complexities of the same; thereby keeping us entranced with the storytelling. Maud's perspective on life tugs at your heartstrings and you can't help but root for her well-being. Also, Maud enjoys reading a great deal. This was yet another aspect of her personality that made her all the more endearing to me.
Without revealing too much, I'd just like to say that Hyacinth represents such toxicity, especially in the life of a child. She is selfish, manipulative, unreliable and downright devious. I was so glad that Maud and Muffet had each other, which just goes to show that children have such an honest point of view and at the end of the day, are only looking for some love and recognition.
The ending couldn't have been more perfect. I teared up a bit, just cause I was happy with how all the loose ends were tied up.
Would definitely recommend this to everyone who enjoys historical fiction, regardless of their age. There's quite a bit that you can take away from it.
Rating - 4.25 stars
I enjoyed reading this book as a child.
Rereading it as an adult, I discovered many layers to the story that I’d been completely unaware of previously. This book has a lot of depth to it and is a story for adults as much as it is a story for children.
Maud is a young orphan in a horrible orphanage. She's adopted by loving, charming Hyacinth and her sisters. Maud is completely under her spell. However, she's starved for her love and desperate for her attention, and never fully manages to attain either. Hyacinth goes from charming and loving to controlling and manipulative in the next and Maud can't be sure how Hyacinth will react at any given moment. And, as much as Hyacinth’s two sisters try to love Maud, they’re not Hyacinth. And, their lives are also controlled by her.
There’s a mourning mother. A deaf servant. Hyacinth herself. And her two sisters.
The book did a great job with all the conflicts. There was also a great depth of emotion conveyed, most of all Maud's emotions, of a lonely, desperate child, trying to make sense of the confusing reality she’s thrust into, betrayed by the adults that she trusted to keep her safe.
The book deals with many mature topics. Death. Abuse. Summoning spirits. Deception. However, it’s all written from the eyes of a child, and so is pretty age appropriate, provided the mature topics themselves aren’t a turn off.
All in all, this is a clean historical read that I recommend to readers of all ages.
Similar recommendations:
[b:Eight Cousins|14570|Eight Cousins (Eight Cousins, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328864060l/14570._SY75_.jpg|2905864]
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Content:
Religion:
There are some Christian themes discussed in the book. There are discussions of spiritualism, heaven and different kinds of Christianity.
Maud and the sisters are shown to recite psalms on their rest day. There's a picture of "Jesus blessing the children of Judea" in Maud's orphanage.
Violence:
There are many direct and indirect scenes with violence, nothing graphic, though many of them involve the adults in Maud’s life betraying her.
The orphanage she was raised in is a cruel place. Child laborers are mentioned. Hyacinth is abusive. She makes fun of many people, Maud included. She and her sisters hold fake seance. Maud is forced to help with their descriptions. She lives as their secret child, in a state of constant fear. She witnesses grown men crying as they speak to their supposed relatives.
In one scene Maud is playing the part of a girl’s ghost and hiding in a close, when a fire breaks out. She’s abandoned by everyone and is forced to fend for herself for two nights.
Other:
There is a lot of deception shown in this book. Maud is adopted by three sisters who pretend to hold seances and speak to spirits and thus cheat people out of their money.
Romance: None
Rereading it as an adult, I discovered many layers to the story that I’d been completely unaware of previously. This book has a lot of depth to it and is a story for adults as much as it is a story for children.
Maud is a young orphan in a horrible orphanage. She's adopted by loving, charming Hyacinth and her sisters. Maud is completely under her spell. However, she's starved for her love and desperate for her attention, and never fully manages to attain either. Hyacinth goes from charming and loving to controlling and manipulative in the next and Maud can't be sure how Hyacinth will react at any given moment. And, as much as Hyacinth’s two sisters try to love Maud, they’re not Hyacinth. And, their lives are also controlled by her.
There’s a mourning mother. A deaf servant. Hyacinth herself. And her two sisters.
The book did a great job with all the conflicts. There was also a great depth of emotion conveyed, most of all Maud's emotions, of a lonely, desperate child, trying to make sense of the confusing reality she’s thrust into, betrayed by the adults that she trusted to keep her safe.
The book deals with many mature topics. Death. Abuse. Summoning spirits. Deception. However, it’s all written from the eyes of a child, and so is pretty age appropriate, provided the mature topics themselves aren’t a turn off.
All in all, this is a clean historical read that I recommend to readers of all ages.
Similar recommendations:
[b:Eight Cousins|14570|Eight Cousins (Eight Cousins, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328864060l/14570._SY75_.jpg|2905864]
[b:Moon Over Manifest|8293938|Moon Over Manifest|Clare Vanderpool|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320541883l/8293938._SY75_.jpg|13142485]
[b:The Witch of Blackbird Pond|703292|The Witch of Blackbird Pond|Elizabeth George Speare|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1345499790l/703292._SY75_.jpg|2904401]
Content:
Religion:
There are some Christian themes discussed in the book. There are discussions of spiritualism, heaven and different kinds of Christianity.
Maud and the sisters are shown to recite psalms on their rest day. There's a picture of "Jesus blessing the children of Judea" in Maud's orphanage.
Violence:
There are many direct and indirect scenes with violence, nothing graphic, though many of them involve the adults in Maud’s life betraying her.
The orphanage she was raised in is a cruel place. Child laborers are mentioned. Hyacinth is abusive. She makes fun of many people, Maud included. She and her sisters hold fake seance. Maud is forced to help with their descriptions. She lives as their secret child, in a state of constant fear. She witnesses grown men crying as they speak to their supposed relatives.
Spoiler
There's a little girl who died from drowning. Maud dreams of her and speaks to her about her death in those dreams.In one scene Maud is playing the part of a girl’s ghost and hiding in a close, when a fire breaks out. She’s abandoned by everyone and is forced to fend for herself for two nights.
Other:
There is a lot of deception shown in this book. Maud is adopted by three sisters who pretend to hold seances and speak to spirits and thus cheat people out of their money.
Spoiler
Maud is adopted to play the part of a girl’s ghost. There are also mentions Maud and Victoria having dreams where they interact with dead people and know details about them that they couldn’t have known in real life.Romance: None
enjoy this one as well. Its a very easy read but has great charater development and you will enjoy the trouble these ladies get themselves into.
i like how historical info was incorporated into this story. nice, strong central female character. safe for a middle school read (as so many prent patrons want to know).
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Loved this book. Maud is instantly sympathetic in her desire to be loved and to feel like she belongs to somebody. I have heard some say the plot was predictable. I did not think it was that predictable, but even if it was, if I am enjoying the ride I don't much mind feeling like I already know the destination. I would recommend this book for fans of Clare Dunkle's House of Dead Maids as well as fans of Burnett's A Little Princess, vastly different books though they may be!
This was a surprisingly good book. Surprising because I found it on the lists from Amazon of People who liked... The basic premise is that a girl in the 1940ish is in an orphanage and then is adopted by three old women. We find out their motivations and really get to know the lead character, Maud, quite well. I liked Maud and found this a satisfying, clean read. I could recommend this book to anyone.
It made me laugh, and cry, and scold the characters all at the same time. The characters are all so real, and so human. Wow! What more can I say?
Feisty troublemaker Maud is swept away from her sad life in an orphanage to live with three sisters. Though idyllic at first, Maud slowly becomes aware that the sisters' intentions with her are not exactly honorable. Despite living in a (somewhat ramshackle) mansion, with more clothes and food than she has ever imagined, the unpredictable behavior of charming Hyacinth leaves Maud confused. As the story unfolds, Maud discovers how the sisters make their money (dishonorably), and the role she must play to assist them.
The story is well-written and great with the atmospheric details, as is typical with Schlitz. The characters are really well-drawn, complicated and flawed in a way that is not typical in middle grade fiction. One flaw that I didn't appreciate was the treatment of deaf servant Muffet; Schlitz should have done a bit more research on deafness to avoid inaccuracy and slight offensiveness (Muffet is described as "dumb" and unable to speak, though she apparently lost her hearing at age four, when she would have had the ability to speak).
Great, well-paced book for ages 8-11.
The story is well-written and great with the atmospheric details, as is typical with Schlitz. The characters are really well-drawn, complicated and flawed in a way that is not typical in middle grade fiction. One flaw that I didn't appreciate was the treatment of deaf servant Muffet; Schlitz should have done a bit more research on deafness to avoid inaccuracy and slight offensiveness (Muffet is described as "dumb" and unable to speak, though she apparently lost her hearing at age four, when she would have had the ability to speak).
Great, well-paced book for ages 8-11.
Decent book, quite exciting and compelling towards the end, but somehow I don't really warm to it. It's a book I'm glad to have read once, but I can't imagine ever reading it again.