jaredpence 's review for:

Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell

1.0

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This book was frustrating to read. The characters kept saying ridiculous things that didn't make sense and weren't consistent. The main character is named Sophie because Charles, the eccentric old man who finds her floating in a cello case in the English channel, wants to give her a plain, common name? And the central plot is that Sophie, now a tween, believes (for no reason beyond her gut) that her mother--assumed dead in the shipwreck where everyone except herself was killed--is alive and that she will somehow come and find Sophie?! Sophie continues to say outrageous things about mothers, even though she has lived 11 of her 12 years without a mother and has been perfectly happy with Charles raising her. The book seems to villainize Miss Eliot, the welfare agency worker who comes to check on Charles and Sophie every now and then, but everything in the story suggests that Miss Eliot is wise and careful, and recognizes that Charles is dangerously nonchalant about raising a child (they eat their meals on books, not plates, for instance). I think Charles is supposed to be cute, funny, and charming, but I found him unbelievable and irresponsible. The ending was the worst part--Sophie, with the help of homeless Parisian children she befriends, locates her mother by listening for cello music as she scampers across the rooftops of Paris. The book ends with a loving embrace between mother and daughter--who are actually complete strangers to each other. 

I probably should have just quit reading, but I had just barely put another book on my DNF list and I didn't want to do two in a row (they were both recommended by the same person). I regret finishing it.