07/27/2020
Readers who have grown to love Newbery Honoree Horvath’s (Everything on a Waffle) slightly quirky characters and unique situations will not be disappointed by this suspenseful story of four orphaned sisters in Borneo, who are in a pickle after their missionary parents are swept away by a tsunami. None of the girls’ “suitable” relatives are willing to take in the four children, so as a last resort, 14-year-old Fiona and her younger siblings are sent to their “peculiar” Aunt Martha, who lives in the woods of British Columbia; upon arriving, they discover that Martha has died of a heart attack but had prepared her home for their stay. Terrified that they will be separated and placed into foster care, they reside in their aunt’s cottage and bribe her grumpy, beer-guzzling neighbor Al to pretend to be their guardian if they bring him dinner—“a hot dinner”—every night. Still, practical-minded Fiona fears it is only a matter of time before social services or Aunt Martha’s suspicious attorney discovers their ruse. Presenting a delicate balance between traumas (sister Natasha getting lost in the woods) and joys (finding an unexpected cohort in the elementary school principal), Horvath’s wide array of contrasting personalities adds humor and depth to the familiar premise of orphans forced to survive on their own. Ages 9–12. (Sept.)
10/30/2020
GR 4–7-Fourteen-year-old Fiona's take-charge nature comes in handy when the four McCready sisters are orphaned, and only upon arrival find that their aunt no longer lives in British Columbia. Energetic Fiona, practical Marlin, dreamy Natasha, and timid Charlie hatch a plot to avoid social services, enlisting the crotchety next-door neighbor to pose as their guardian, trading him Marlin's home-cooked dinners and $20 a week for car rides and an adult signature when needed. Once readers are on board with the girls' very occasional sadness over the loss of both parents, the story is warm, funny, and insightful. School principal Miss Webster and conservation officer Don Pettinger help keep their secret, but the girls, in grades from high school to elementary, make a run at challenges quite ingeniously on their own. Al Farber is a richly drawn curmudgeon, with depth of character that brings to mind Susan Smith from Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War that Saved My Life. VERDICT Horvath hits the perfect notes of independence, adventure, and sentimentality, without being cloying. Hand to fans of Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks and Karina Yan Glaser's The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. Deserves a place in most middle school libraries.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley Sch., Fort Worth, TX
★ 2020-06-16
Four orphaned girls try to figure out how to get along on their own.
When a relative is found to take them in after their missionary parents’ sudden deaths by tsunami, the McCready sisters move from Borneo to British Columbia only to discover that Great-Aunt Martha has died unexpectedly. However, Martha has left her paperwork in good order, registered the children at the local schools, and stocked her house with food and beds. Fourteen-year-old Fiona must keep everyone together and avoid alerting social services. The school principal is sympathetic and supportive. The cranky neighbor, Al, a drinker who lets fly the occasional oath and whose trailer home is in disarray, reluctantly agrees to pretend to be the girls’ guardian. They think of him as the Waste Troll, based on a disparaging comment by the McCreadys’ garden-gnome–look-alike lawyer. While Marlin, 12, discovers her affinity and talent for cooking and baking, Natasha, 10, becomes a bird-watcher, and Charlie, 8 and a worrier, befriends Al before any of the others. The default white is assumed. Horvath, ever respectful of the inner lives of children, has a way of incorporating moments of sweet hilarity into an account that makes the girls’ situation seem plausible. She doesn’t stint on vocabulary or on sophisticated observations, yet her narrative arc is direct and extraordinarily satisfying, with its emphasis on competence and survival of the domestic, familial, and emotional sort.
Delightful. (Fiction. 9-14)
"[A] buoyant and tender story. . . . With orphan stories there is a rule, of course: By the end, children must have a real guardian. Who that will be is one of the mysteries—and ultimate satisfactions—of this funny and rewarding novel"—The Wall Street Journal
★ "Horvath, ever respectful of the inner lives of children, has a way of incorporating moments of sweet hilarity into an account that makes the girls’ situation seem plausible. She doesn’t stint on vocabulary or on sophisticated observations, yet her narrative arc is direct and extraordinarily satisfying, with its emphasis on competence and survival of the domestic, familial, and emotional sort."—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Readers who have grown to love Newbery Honoree Horvath’s (Everything on a Waffle) slightly quirky characters and unique situations will not be disappointed by this suspenseful story . . . Horvath’s wide array of contrasting personalities adds humor and depth to the familiar premise of orphans forced to survive on their own."—Publishers Weekly
"a comforting coming-of-age tale . . . Horvath is a master at creating winning characters, and each sister emerges as a distinct individual." —Book Page
"For those who like to settle into a comfy spot and spend quality time with spunky heroines and quirky supporting characters, Horvath’s latest certainly fits the bill."—Booklist
"the story is warm, funny, and insightful. . . . Horvath hits the perfect notes of independence, adventure, and sentimentality, without being cloying."—School Library Journal
"[R]eaders will be treated to a story featuring suspense, believable characters, a fully realized setting, and nuggets of Horvath wisdom"—The Horn Book
"Horvath fans will recognize her recurring subject of kids outside of traditional adult care, and the book deftly balances a twenty-first century setting with a classic orphan-story feel. . . . Ultimately, it’s an appealing domestic survival story with a slice of reality, bound to appeal to youngsters who contemplate an adult-free life." —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
