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stuhlsem 's review for:
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls
by Claire Legrand
This book was delightfully scary! Maybe on the scary side of delightful, but definitely gross and creepy--perfect for certain 9-year-old patrons I can think of.
Victoria Wright is perfect. She gets perfect grades and always does what she is told. Of course, she doesn't have friends: she doesn't have time for friends. Except for Lawrence. Victoria adopts Lawrence, thinking that if she can train him to tie his shoes, keep his shirt tucked in, do his homework, and quit humming (all the time!), she might be able to save him from the dire fate of not being perfect. Then, one day things get weird. Kids start disappearing--the weird kids, the ugly kids, the badly behaved kids. When Lawrence fails to show up to school, Victoria begins investigating. She discovers grownups acting very strangely, lots of bugs that seem to be invading, and the very mysterious Mrs. Cavendish, proprietess of the 'orphanage' down the street. It turns out, all may not be as it seems in this lovely, perfect town.
Victoria was great as she evolved throughout the story from a pretty boring (perfect people are boring) character to one who is not afraid to ignore grownups in order to do what is right. She manages to escape the orphan home, saving all the other kids in the process, and destroy Mrs. Cavendish's workshop, all of which would have been inconceivable to perfect Victoria Wright. The parents were, of course, absent (this is a J novel, after all!), but there was a good reason for it: they were puppets being controlled by Mrs. Cavendish, the master manipulator.
Victoria Wright is perfect. She gets perfect grades and always does what she is told. Of course, she doesn't have friends: she doesn't have time for friends. Except for Lawrence. Victoria adopts Lawrence, thinking that if she can train him to tie his shoes, keep his shirt tucked in, do his homework, and quit humming (all the time!), she might be able to save him from the dire fate of not being perfect. Then, one day things get weird. Kids start disappearing--the weird kids, the ugly kids, the badly behaved kids. When Lawrence fails to show up to school, Victoria begins investigating. She discovers grownups acting very strangely, lots of bugs that seem to be invading, and the very mysterious Mrs. Cavendish, proprietess of the 'orphanage' down the street. It turns out, all may not be as it seems in this lovely, perfect town.
Victoria was great as she evolved throughout the story from a pretty boring (perfect people are boring) character to one who is not afraid to ignore grownups in order to do what is right. She manages to escape the orphan home, saving all the other kids in the process, and destroy Mrs. Cavendish's workshop, all of which would have been inconceivable to perfect Victoria Wright. The parents were, of course, absent (this is a J novel, after all!), but there was a good reason for it: they were puppets being controlled by Mrs. Cavendish, the master manipulator.