Skip to main content

"Tuesdays at the Castle" by Jessica Day George and "The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls" by Claire Legrand


Coincidentally, I just read two books in which the homes the protagonists inhabit are alive. Both stories were good, but both could have been better. Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George suffers from a cartoonish cover and wide variations in tone, while The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls by Claire Legrand could have benefited from a much tighter edit and consistent characterizations.
book jacketCastle Glower in Tuesdays at the Castle is quite magical. It can transform rooms, add passageways, and even select the heir to the kingdom. Youngest royal Princess Celie is the castle’s favorite and the feeling is mutual. But the royal family is in danger. While returning from a trip, the king, queen, and oldest son (but not the heir) are set upon by assassins and have disappeared. Evil counselors and foreign princes have declared them dead, but Princess Celie and her older brother (the heir) and sister know it cannot be true. Castle Glower helps them plot against the evildoers and save the kingdom.
That’s all well and good, but the cover of the book led me to believe the novel was going to be much more light-hearted – and not at all about those who plan assassinations. Some of the action the young royals take are quite silly -- stealing chamber pots, anyone? -- but the bad guys are really dangerous. The cover certainly didn’t prepare me for the fact that Princess Celie would face an attempt on her own life by a man who speaks like a Russian spy:
“If alive, why not here?” Prince Khelsh [the main bad guy] asked. “He could have to the castle walked.” He shrugged. “Is dead.”
Have we learned nothing from George Lucas’s Watto and the Gungans?
book jacketIt’s probably not fair to compare Tuesdays at the Castle to The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen, but both deal with heirs to kingdoms, assassination attempts, and castle intrigue, so I at least want to share their covers. That of the False Prince is more atmospheric and evocative, no? Still in all, I really enjoyed Tuesdays at the Castle and am looking forward to the next book in George’s new series.
I didn’t like The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls nearly as much as I wanted to. Many reviewers have said it’s a creepy book and even a bit scary (in a good way), but as I discovered a few police procedurals and thrillers ago, I’m inured to such things. Despite my lack of sensitivity, it’s a good story. It has a terrific heroine (by the second half of the book). And the conflict is strong enough to keep the story going. But the first part of the book is boring and our heroine’s best friend suffers from being inconsistently portrayed.
In the early chapters of the book, we learn that 12-year-old Victoria Wright is perfect and has the grades and attitude to prove it. She has no friends, really, because that would be messy. Her only friend is Lawrence Prewitt, a music prodigy, and a sloppy one at that, but Victoria hopes to straighten him out. In the early chapters, we find that Lawrence is the only person who doesn’t take Victoria as seriously as she wants to be and even has the gall to call her “Vicky.” He’s personable and actually a bit charming (he writes her a lovely note for her birthday). Then Lawrence disappears.
book jacketVictoria is one of the first to notice that the Cavendish Home at the end of her street is an unusual building with odd inhabitants, and she’s the among the first to notice that children are vanishing, and that none of the adults seem to be themselves anymore. When Lawrence is taken, she believes it’s up to her to rescue him. She attempts to infiltrate the home, but instead gets captured by the evil matron just like the other kids. Now the novel picks up steam and Victoria’s out-sized ego keeps her from accepting victim-hood. She may be, as Mrs. Cavendish suggests, just like a young Mrs. Cavendish in her desire to make all things neat and perfect, but Victoria refuses to be trapped or allow her classmates lose their personalities. It is as she is fighting Mrs. Cavendish and her gruesome minions that the house wakes up and helps her set things straight. It’s actually quite an adventure.
But the first half of the book lingers far too long on Victoria’s desire to change her one “B” on her latest report card to an "A." That whole subplot could have been cut. We know Victoria is a snob from other events. Further, Lawrence, who is cheeky enough to call Victoria “Vicky,” loses all personality later on. I refuse to believe that the Mrs. Cavendish knocked that much will out of him. If he defies his parents constantly at the beginning of the book – they don’t encourage his musical talent – why does he turn into such a wimp later? It just doesn’t fit. And I suspect the author knew that too because she flips back and forth with him – sometimes he does stand up to Mrs. Cavendish, and sometimes he doesn’t. I think Lawrence could have been a stronger character. Especially considering how he makes Victoria all warm inside – then and in the future. (No spoilers, but I like the ending very much.)
Again, though, I will recommend the book. I think tweens will enjoy it and maybe even get creeped out by it, as they should be.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin

I’m a horrible blogger. Several times this past year, I thought I should just quit this. But I keep being drawn back. So, I’m going to do a little catching up and see how well I remember some of the books I read much earlier this year. Stay tuned. Today, however, I’m just going to write about one. I’ve been singing the praises of The Fifth Season all year even though I’m late to the party: It was published in 2015, and Jemisin is well-known as a gifted writer in the sci-fi and fantasy world. Since then, she has come out with the next two books in The Broken Earth trilogy and has won the Hugo Award three years running. No author has ever done that, let alone a black, female author. Back in 2015 she was the first African-American to win the Hugo for Best Novel. Actually, this year’s Hugos were dominated by women as female authors won in all the major categories. This is important. I’ve been noticing odd twitter posts lately about how women really don’t play video games or ar
Post a Comment
Read more

"Beartown" by Fredrik Backman

I’m about to be overly effusive: I loved Beartown by Fredrik Backman and I think it is one of the best books I’ve ever read. (See Tangent 1.) I even love the cover. Backman lured us into his Swedish world of curmudgeons and the neighbors who love them with A Man Called Ove and his other novellas. But this isn’t A Man Called Ove . This book has a much larger scope. This feels like the book Backman has always wanted to write but had to wait to give to us until he developed an audience. You got it, bro. I will read whatever else you write in the future. This book more deeply develops his ideas about communities. It is also about parenthood and all the responsibilities that go along with it. It’s about family and best friends who are like family. It’s about belonging. It’s about sorrow and happiness. And there’s some hockey. (Tangent 2.) You will hate some of the parents (Kevin’s, William’s). You will love some of the teens (Amat, Maya, Ana, Benji, Bobo, Leo...). Be prepared
Post a Comment
Read more

"The Boy at the End of the World," by Greg van Eekhout

I’m very grateful for The Boy at the End of the World , by Greg Van Eekhout. It’s a good, though not outstanding, book. More important, it fills a gap: science fiction for 3 rd -5 th graders. Because at some point during the school year, a teacher will assign a science fiction book report and I will have a hard time recommending books. I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy. And we know how much I like dystopian fiction (a lot). I have no problem finding good science fiction books for teens. In fact, some of the other librarians are tired of me telling teens (regardless of the assignment), “You must read Feed . Everyone should.” Or “You have to read Ender’s Game . You'll love it.” But younger kids come into the library looking for science fiction and it feels like there’s nothing very good. Most of them balk at the length of The True Meaning of Smekday (by Adam Rex), no matter how hard I sell it. They shrug their shoulders at The City of Ember (Jean DuPrau), even when I
Post a Comment
Read more