- an orphan girl is kicked out of so many schools that she has to go live with her two unkind aunts in an old school building
- she begins to hear voices from the walls and eventually discovers who is secretly living in the attic, unbeknownst to the aunts
- convo: lying throughout, many similes and metaphors related to magic (ex: fat as a witch’s cauldron, cold as the breath of a passing ghost, the ghostly clump of birches, etc.), disrespect to (and from) adults, girl thinks herself ugly, a strangely frequent mention of underwear/underpants/undressing, a girl is slapped (in the story and in past memories), bad attitude and cynicism are never corrected and never really improve, kids conjecture that one of the bags of clothes has a dead body in it, mean kids at school, wine mentioned, a death of a known character
- language: x22+ dumb/dummy, x9+ stupid
Type: chapter book
Ages: 10+
Author: Sylvia Cassedy
There comes a point (with me, personally) when examples of rotten behavior go on too long. Enough is enough already. Somebody love this poor 12-year-old! There’s legitimate reason for her defiant behavior, but as a read-aloud, it became a little exhausting.
The magical element behind the attic wall was mildly entertaining, but the ending was more muddled than we would have liked. You’re certainly left with a little mystery at the end.
Fortunately, the author at least finds a better home for Maggie in the end.
I probably wouldn’t hand this off to just any child, at least ones who might be influenced by the main character’s attitude and disobedience. However, in a group setting, as I read it to my children over lunch several days in a row, it was fine. Not one I ever need to revisit.
Happy reading?
🙂