Smy, Pam. Thornhill.
Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press 2017 529p. $19.99 ISBN
978-1-62672-654-3 ms Graphic Novel E-BN
Ella has
just moved into a new home that overlooks the old, abandoned Thornhill
Institute for orphans. Feeling lonely in a new environment, from her
upper-floor bedroom window she sees a girl in the window of the institute and
decides to explore the Thornhill property and home to find this new,
mysterious, possible friend.
The story is told in alternating voices. Mary, the girl in the window, tells her story, which takes place in a different time and is told through diary entries that Ella finds. Ella’s story is told through eye-catching, wonderful illustrations. As the story unfolds, the girls’ lives are paralleled through different times. Mary is a lonely orphan in 1982 dealing with the fact that she has not been adopted as the institute closes and facing a bully. Ella, living in 2017, is a lonely girl in a new town.
The story is delivered beautifully in contrasting formats that lead to the mystery, excitement, and poignancy of the plot. While the novel could be considered haunting, the manner in which it is written makes it more suspenseful and intriguing than horrifying. The writing is fanatstic and the illustrations are exquisite.
The story is told in alternating voices. Mary, the girl in the window, tells her story, which takes place in a different time and is told through diary entries that Ella finds. Ella’s story is told through eye-catching, wonderful illustrations. As the story unfolds, the girls’ lives are paralleled through different times. Mary is a lonely orphan in 1982 dealing with the fact that she has not been adopted as the institute closes and facing a bully. Ella, living in 2017, is a lonely girl in a new town.
The story is delivered beautifully in contrasting formats that lead to the mystery, excitement, and poignancy of the plot. While the novel could be considered haunting, the manner in which it is written makes it more suspenseful and intriguing than horrifying. The writing is fanatstic and the illustrations are exquisite.
Summary:
Lonely Ella has just moved into a new home that overlooks the old, abandoned
Thornhill Institute for orphans, where she sees a girl in the window and
explores the Thornhill property and institute to find the link between herself
and the girl she seeks to befriend.
Orphans
and Family Life-Fiction --Virginia McGarvey
