By Kelly Barnhill
4RBooks: 3/6, grades 6-8
Amazon rating: 4.7/5, grades 5+
Good Reads: 3.30/5
Common Sense Media: 4/5, ages 10+
390 pages
Synopsis:
The orphans at the orphan house in Stone-in-the-Glen are worried. Matron and Myron, the adults who run the home are getting older. There seems to be less and less food available to eat. Worst, the residents in the town are getting more and more distant from each other, distrusting their neighbors, and unwilling to help anyone but themselves. Everything has gone downhill since the library and school burned down. The mayor, a seemingly lovely fellow, keeps promising to fix everything, but nothing is improving.
The ogress lives on the edge of town. She has had a hard life but loves Stone-in-the Glen and wants to help. With the help of her dog, her sheep, and her crows, she devises a plan to bring people together and bring happiness back to the town.
Before anyone discovers that the ogress is the person behind their morning surprises, one of the orphans runs away and the ogress is blamed. The orphans know the truth, but can they convince the town the ogress is not at fault and that together they can rebuild and return their town to the caring and happy place it once was using the power of ideas, books, and learning.
Parental Guidance: medium-low
Dragons who wrap themselves in the skins of other animals to experience their life is
a relevant theme in the book.
A mob descends upon the ogress’s home and causes damage to her and the
structures.
The crows fight back against the towns people.
The ogress befriends a dog who has been blinded by a previous owner
There a couple of instances of adults drinking and then making unwise choices.
Recommendation:
As I was reading, I kept thinking this story could be considered a mash-up of Stone Soup and Beauty and the Beast. Like the first story, the theme of everyone helping, and giving to the community was similar, while the idea of a horrible creature on the outskirts of town (though the ogress is much nicer than the beast) and the town rallying to drive them out (led by a mayor instead of Gascon) was akin to the second story.
From a child’s perspective, this is a very long story and slow at times. The different elements of the plot can be confusing, and the language is rich. As such, I would only recommend this for a strong or advanced reader in middle school. The themes of generosity, kindness, and compassion are developed well, and the advocacy for books, reading, learning, and creativity are appreciated. I enjoyed the read, but was looked forward to finally getting to the end.
Parents should be aware that based on a comment made in the acknowledgements, this story developed its themes on the political divisiveness of 2020/2021 and the pandemic. If you don’t know that, it’s easy to take the book at face value. But, if you are aware of this dynamic, it’s hard not to see the author’s bias. The mayor is an obvious caricature of a recent political figure, and the portrayal of the towns people shows them as emotionally driven, ignorant, and easily persuaded. A major theme is “The more you give the more you have.”
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