Bookverdict.com

Gr 5–9—This illustrated debut novel brings the dead back to life. Mary's story, told through diary entries, takes place in 1982 over a seven-month period at the Thornhill Institute for Children, an orphanage on the cusp of closing its doors forever. Mary has selective mutism and has turned to the art of doll-making. Her odd hobby and quiet persona make her a target for bullying. After many of the other orphan girls have been "re-homed," Mary is left al...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Spare diary entries relate twelve-year-old orphan Mary's heart-wrenching experience at the soon-to-be-shuttered Thornhill Institute in 1982. Electively mute, sensitive, and creative, Mary makes an obvious target for a sadistic bully (whom Mary refers to only, and ominously, as she); the torment causes her to become ever more withdrawn. Alternating Selznick-style (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, rev. 3/07) with Mary's narrative is another one told e...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Spare diary entries relate twelve-year-old orphan Mary's heart-wrenching experience at the soon-to-be-shuttered Thornhill Institute in 1982. Electively mute, sensitive, and creative, Mary makes an obvious target for a sadistic bully (whom Mary refers to only, and ominously, as she); the torment causes her to become ever more withdrawn. Alternating Selznick-style (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, rev. 3/07) with Mary's narrative is another one told e...Log In or Sign Up to Read More