The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls

Did not like this story. It was not what I expected, dark and very chaotic. Better choices from this author are Some Kind of Happiness and Foxheart.

I got this book after reading this note while standing in line at my favorite sandwich place. I read it to my ten year old son. He enjoyed it; it kept him wanting more. The ending was kinda “meh” for me... but I’m not a kid.

This book. Where do I even begin?

If you're looking for something spooky and fantastical and altogether gross, stomach churning, triumphant, and just plain BEAUTIFUL, then this book is for you.

I originally bought this because the cover is intensely gorgeous. I didn't know much about the plot other than there was a missing boy and a spooky orphanage that took children who weren't orphans- they were just considered different or peculiar. The plot is so much deeper than that, more sinister and complex and it really makes you pause and think about what people will turn a blind eye to in order to maintain status quo.

The best description I can give for this book is a more complex and better put together version of Coraline.

Ugh, this book is so good that I'm literally blanking on what to say! Just read it!

Victoria, a perfectionist, befriends Lawrence, a musical slouch. They are an unlikely pair, but when Lawrence disappears, Victoria sets out to find him. She notices other children disappearing and adults acting in very strange ways. Even after being warned not to stir the waters, Victoria asks questions and researches the Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls where she believes the children, as well as some adults, have been taken. Eventually, Victoria is taken as well and continues her research from the inside. Is the Home a part of Mrs. Cavendish? What is in the dark garden? What moves at night in the Home? Where do the children who never return go? These are some of the questions she must answer in order to free herself and the other taken children.

This book is a horror novel, plain and simple. There is a lot of scary suspense as well as disgusting moments (eating of human flesh) and large sprinklings of child abuse. Mrs. Cavendish hits the children repeatedly as well as emotionally torturing them. Many of the pages have drawings of the ever present evil cockroaches. There is a lot of screaming in the darkness, people living in a "drugged" state and missing bodies.

I would not normally read this sort of book or recommend it, but once I started I could not get away from the mystery aspect of it. Where were the children? I enjoyed Victoria putting her superior attitude to work to save the children. There were quite a few holes in the story and parts that seemed not to belong, but the story flowed well and was riveting.

This story is recommended for ages 10 and up. I would recommend it for grades 6 and up, however, and only for those who enjoy reading horror and are not sensitive to dark subjects. Otherwise, if you are looking for a light read, I would give this book a pass as it is extremely scary and may very well give you nightmares. The multitudes of cockroaches alone were enough to creep me out but the child abuse was beyond heartbreaking.

Recently, somewhere, I came across Winterspell by Claire Legrand. It was published at the end of September, and when I read the synopsis of the story, it sounded like something I'd want to read. Of course there is a waiting list at my library (shout out to @PlanoLibrary!), so, as I do sometimes, I decided to read something else by the author whilst waiting for my title to be available. I was not disappointed.

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand

Briefly: Victoria likes order. Clean room, shining hair, perfect schoolwork. She's competitive in all aspects of her life. Messy things like untucked shirts, bad grades and friends are not part of her universe. Except for Lawrence, though he's more of a project than a friend. He's unkempt, has a grey streak in his hair akin to a skunk's and he only cares about music.

Belleville is the kind of perfect town whose citizens are the right sort of people. So Victoria fits in; Lawrence does not. And then he goes missing. And then Victoria realizes that other "messy" children have gone missing. And no one seems to notice or care. What is going on?

All answers seem to be waiting at The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls.

Didja Like It?: I love books like this. Sometimes, it seems you have to put in a lot of effort with books; they make you work for it, with the outcome not always rosy (ie, it is not worth it). This was one of those books that effortlessly pulled me in immediately and gave me a great, immersive read. Uncovering the mystery in this town, why the parents, other adults and most of the children are seemingly oblivious to plight of their children/classmates was a treat. There's the sour neighbor with the obnoxious dog; the new teacher who maybe sees more than he should; the adults who smile a little bit too much; and the recurring warning to be careful.

Anything Else to Mention?: There are lots of beetle-y type bugs mentioned throughout the story...so the fact that the publisher thought to include insect endpapers and pictures of bugs on the actual pages is a great touch that adds to the creepy crawly atmosphere. There are also actual illustrations! What a delight.

To Read or Not To Read: While it can be a little gruesome at times (but that's the point), it is the perfect choice to read anytime (especially as we head into Halloween). And then there's that ending...

The Cavendish Home For Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand was published August 28, 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Ink and Page picked this book up from the library. So there.

Rating: 4

Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grades Fiction Fantasy Mystery
Ages: 10 and up
You Might Want to Know: A little gruesomeness. But it's all good.

Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide

I don’t read a ton of middle grade books, but when Alyssa, Amy and volunteered for the Kids Author Carnival this year at BEA and found out that it was being co-hosted by Claire LeGrand, we really wanted to read one of Claire’s books before the event! We featured the book just the other week for On the Same Page and all of us really enjoyed it!

What really struck me about the book first of all was how visually appealing it was. I just loved being able to picture everything that was going on and how Victoria’s life was slowly changing from the organized, structured ways that she had established and quickly spiraling out of control with the growing presence of Mrs. Cavendish, the owner of the orphanage in the neighborhood. It was slightly terrifying to witness how Victoria’s world was changing around her and how she had to figure out not only how NOT to get sucked in but how to change it back.

I also really loved the friendships in this book. Victoria’s only friend is Lawrence, an untidy boy who she doesn’t even consider a friend but a project. Victoria only takes him on as her project to teach him how to look smarter and act proper. Naturally when Lawrence mysteriously disappears, Victoria commits to getting him back and starts to realize that maybe they really were closer friends than she even admitted to herself. I really liked how easily their friendship developed, even without Victoria knowing it. I just really love great friendships in books and it was refreshing reading a middle grade book where obviously friendships are more prominent since the characters are too young to develop romantic relationships.

I was definitely hooked the whole book. Claire LeGrand left the perfect amount of suspense and mystery to keep the readers invested and I was desperate to figure out what exactly the deal was with Mrs. Cavendish and said home for boys and girls. The crazy things that were going on would be absolutely terrifying if I were actually experiencing them as an adult so I can’t even imagine how Victoria held it together! But she’s also a person very much driven by logic and reasoning so she probably didn’t really stand for all of the off-kilter events. It definitely had a Tim Burton sort of feel for me which really added to my reading experience!

3.5 Stars

This was a vividly told story, though the writing was rather slow. My 10-year-old and I read it together. Compared to other books we read, it felt like this had a lot of description and not a lot of plot. I think this could have been brilliant as a short story but, for its length, it didn't quite hold up as a novel. I found myself wishing we had read it on audiobook and sped up the playback.

To make a long story short (ba-dum-pah!) an extremely upright, perfectionist, rule-following tween suffers the disappearance of her flawed best friend and finds all involved acting suspicious when she asks questions. His parents have said that he's at his grandmother's house but even they are acting strangely. Come to think of it, a LOT of people are acting strangely lately.

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls is nearby to her in her small town. It seems to be a mysterious place. To pass by, you wouldn't find any children--only a creepy groundskeeper. A visit to the home reveals that something strange is afoot, and the heroine takes matters in her own hands. How will she find and save her best friend? How will she find out what really goes on at the mysterious "orphanage"? And could the two possibly be related?

The imagery here is gorgeously drawn. The author is skilled. But I'm surprised it has received the accolades that it has. The prose is wonderful but the story pacing is so far off that I would hesitate to read another book by this author.

I very much enjoyed this story! It kicked off creepily very quickly--the off-kilter, creepy ambiance was wonderfully done. There never felt as if there was a lull or dull moment. Victoria, honestly, is quite possibly one of my favorite heroine's to date. She was straightforward and no-nonsense, and kept true to herself throughout.

3/5 instead of 4/5 because the ending left too many questions unanswered that would have been helpful to wrap up (for both me and, I think, for Victoria).

I still would highly recommend! (and have already snagged two of my friends to read also!)

Based on the cover illustration, I wasn't expecting just how gruesome some of the detailed descriptions at the end of the book. It's a dark middle grade novel with a couple moral twists such as excepting others as they are, and living with the high standards of perfection. "You like things to be just so, no matter what the cost. So does she. So does everyone around here." The book gets a bit long in the middle, but recovers with high suspense.

I really enjoyed this book! When I started reading, I discovered that I was hearing the story in my head as narrated by Stephen Fry (the narrator in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), though I'm not sure why...

This book definitely gave me a Coraline/Lemony Snicker vibe, so of course I loved that! However, once I finished the story, I realized just how similar it is to Coraline...and I'm not sure exactly how to feel about that.

The storyline itself was decent (though again, very similar to Coraline). I truly thought this story was creepy though! And I LOVED the creep factor. Especially for a children's book! I mean, some bits would have absolutely terrified me if I had read it when I was younger. At age 26, I was so creeped out thinking about the story after I finished it at 11pm that I used the light on my phone to get into bed after turning off the lamp that was across the room... This doesn't happen very often, so I was impressed.

The characters were a bit meh for me, but I enjoyed them. Even though the main character, Victoria, really drove me nuts with her uptight and perfectionist personality. Though it was so extreme that I found it a bit funny. Especially the, "I swear on my academic report" bit. I do wish we had gotten to know Lawrence just a bit more.

My biggest irks included:
1) The repetition (my usual irk). There were just numerous times where I read a sentence and thought "didn't I just read this?" This happened mostly when Victoria was trying to pump herself up so she wouldn't be scared. But more than a couple of times I read something repetitive and was just like, "okay...she's scared...she doesn't understand...etc. We got it the first two or three times she said/thought it."

2) That the illustrations didn't always match up to the story. Don't get me wrong, I thought the illustrations were lovely! Just in one we see Victoria in her normal clothes when she was supposed to be in PJ's... And in another she was supposed to be carrying the dog, but she wasn't... When I look at illustrations I want them to actually fit the story perfectly. Maybe that's unreasonable. But when I saw these two illustrations, I wondered if the artist had even really read the story, or if the author changed things up after the artist had done the illustration.

Overall a very good read. I would definitely recommend this book!

Favorite lines/passages:
She wore fancy aprons in the kitchen even though she didn’t cook, because she looked lovely in aprons, and that’s what one is supposed to wear in a kitchen, after all.

Victoria hated that feeling, and any between feelings, for that matter. Things should be one or the other, not somewhere in the middle, and lately, everything was in the middle.