Bartok, Mira. Wonderling.

Bartok, Mira. Wonderling. Candlewick Press    2017 450p $21.99   ISBN 978-0-7636-9121-9    ms/hs     Fantasy  VG-BN      

Number 13 is a groundling, part human, part animal, and an inhabitant of Miss Carbunkle’s Home for Wayward and Misbegotten Creatures, an orphanage that houses those who have nowhere else to live. The groundlings are forced to work in the classroom learning only what suits Miss Carbunkle, and then in the factory, making widgets for hours.  It is not until the fox-like Number 13 saves a newcomer, a bird named Trinket, that he gets what he desperately lacks, a friend and a name of his own. Now known as Arthur, he and Trinket manage to escape into the wider world and search for Arthur’s true gift, that of family and song. This book is a combination of the travails of David Copperfield and a tale of magic. It is an engaging suspenseful, well-written fantasy with excellent characterizations and a well-paced plot.  This solidly written fantasy will hold the reader's attention from beginning to end.
 
This solidly written fantasy will hold the reader's attention from beginning to end.

Summary: Number 13 is a groundling, part human, part animal, and an inhabitant of Miss Carbunkle’s Home for Wayward and Misbegotten Creatures, an orphanage that houses those poor beings who have nowhere else to live.  This book is a combination of David Copperfield and a tale of magic.

Orphans-Fiction                                                                                             --Susan Ogintz