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Summary
Summary
It's the year 1900, the dawn of a new century and a chance for a new beginning for Verna and Carlie, whose mother died two years ago. They are headed to their new home--the grounds of an asylum for the mentally ill. Their father, a doctor, has been hired to treat its patients while the girls are under the strict and watchful eye of their aunt Maude. The towering asylum, the murmuring patients with their tormented pasts, the exquisite locked garden at the center of the grounds--Verna perceives forbidden mystery and enchantment everywhere. Even Aunt Maude's temper will not keep her from striking out on her own exciting adventures.
But is Verna ready to confront all the secrets and emotions that have been locked within--even those of her own heart?
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Verna and her sister Carlie are still dealing with the death of their mother and the arrival of her harsh and dour sister, Aunt Maude, when their father accepts a position as a staff doctor at a hospital for the mentally ill. When he brings Eleanor, a young patient recovering from depression, into the home to help with the chores, Aunt Maude sees her as a threat while the girls welcome her with joy. Though Maude and Eleanor's father bring condemnation and pain into Eleanor's life, the children, their father, and the hospital administrator reach out to her with acceptance and love. The story explores the prejudice that shadowed the lives of the mentally ill at the turn of the century as well as what it means to be "normal." As Verna stands up for what she thinks is right while trying out questionable means to attain her goals, the author allows readers to experience the development of her maturity and character. At the conclusion of the story, readers see a real girl who has not learned all of life's lessons and has not made all the right choices but is still in the process of learning and growing. A thoroughly enjoyable read.-Debra Banna, Sharon Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
National Book Award-winner Whelan (Homeless Bird) sets this straightforward and thoughtful story at an asylum for the mentally ill in 1900. Narrator Verna and her younger sister, Carlie, move to a house on the hospital grounds with their psychiatrist father and dour busybody Aunt Maude (the girls' mother died of typhoid). Verna immediately feels a kindred spirit with Eleanor, the cheerful asylum patient who begins working as a maid for the family. Jealous of the girls' affection for Eleanor, Maude grows increasingly vindictive, until Papa is forced to send her packing. Fearing the appearance of impropriety, given that he and Eleanor (of whom he's clearly grown fond) are both single, Verna's father dismisses her, which sends the young woman spiraling into depression. Though overwrought imagery ("Eleanor was always on my mind, a singing bird hidden high in a treetop") occasionally bogs down the narrative and an abrupt, inconclusive ending will leave some readers feeling cheated, Whelan adds authentic period flavor and crafts affecting moments-some in the asylum's locked garden-between the sisters and the recovering Eleanor. Ages 8-12. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Eleanor, a patient at the insane asylum where Verna and Carlie's father works, takes on household duties for the family. The girls grow to love Eleanor but must reconcile their feelings with what the world thinks of her. Whelan's author's note explains more about the movement during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to provide humane care for the mentally ill. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
From page one, National Book Award winner Whelan establishes a strong sense of time, unusual setting and charactersan asylum for the mentally ill in 20th-century Michigan. After Verna and younger sister Carlie's mother died, their psychiatrist Papa moves the family to a house on the grounds of an asylum for his work. One of the patients, a young woman who is recovering, is sent to keep house, and the girls becomes very attached to her, much preferring her to their strict and disapproving Aunt Maude. Though the girls would like her instead of Maude to take their mother's place, having a single woman living in the same house with a widower would be a scandalous social impropriety. At the core is Verna's strong-willed determination to keep Eleanor from her abusive father. This convincing melodrama portrays an atypical attitude toward treating mental illness by involving patients in gardening, singing and farm chores. While some plot details are convenient, this exceptional story never lets the focus override the characterization. (Historical fiction. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When her father, a well-known psychiatrist, accepts a position at a remote asylum in northern Michigan, Verna is reluctant to leave their home, which holds happy memories of her mother, who died two years earlier in 1898. Once settled into their cozy new house on the asylum grounds, though, Verna and her younger sister welcome their new life, particularly after the arrival of their young maid, Eleanor. Although she is a melancholia patient, Eleanor brings a warmth that contrasts sharply with the girls' guardian, Aunt Maude, who can be as menacing as a hornet's nest. Tensions rise as Aunt Maude grows furiously jealous of the affection Eleanor shares with the girls, who, in turn, plot to send Maude packing. Descriptions of the sprawling, grand asylum and its mysteriously locked wings may lead readers to suppose that they've begun a gothic novel. They'll quickly realize, though, that the evocative setting is a backdrop to the sensitive, sometimes comedic family story filled with character lessons for Verna and compassionate questions about mental illness and its treatment.--Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2009 Booklist