This novel is told from the point of view of three different people. Katie is a young girl in present day Canada who has lost her mother. Her father has recently remarried and is expecting a child with his new wife. Katie is feeling like an outsider in her own home when she is, in her view, shipped off to Halifax to visit her grandparents.

William is Katie’s great-grandfather and another voice in the story. Through conversations with her grandfather and first person retelling we hear the story of how William came to Canada as a Home Child. Lillie the third voice in the story is another Home Child and a spirit who appears to Katie.

This novel introduces us to the story of the Home Children; orphans, paupers and homeless children who were sent from England in the early 1900s promised new families but instead given lives of servitude.

I found the story of the Home Children interesting as it is a part of Canadian history that I had no prior knowledge of. I think that perhaps I would have just preferred to read about William and Lillie rather than Katie. The time lines come together in the end but I was far more interested in the story of the past. I felt that both Katie and William’s characters were less developed than Lillie’s.

Age range: 12-14
Ranking: Quality – 2.5/5 Popularity 2/5

Winnie Foster is a young girl who lives a very sheltered life in a little village. When she decides to venture into the forest her family owns one night she has a great adventure. In the forest she meets the Tuck family. The Tuck family had drunk from a spring in the forest and somehow become immortal. The Tuck family brings Winnie back to their home where she learns to love this strange family. A strange man, searching for the Tucks, overhears them explain their situation to Winnie and follows them. He then ransoms Winnie for the forest with the magical spring. When the police arrive at the Tucks home Winnie has to decide where her allegiances lie. She also has to decide how she will use what she knows. Does she want to join the Tucks in their immortal life.

This was a very sweet book with the message that often what you desire from life is not really what you want. The story was very simple and easy to read. The development of the plot may be a little too obvious for the older/more experienced reader. Winnie is a character that many young girls could probably empathize with, especially the overprotective family. The historical setting would also appeal to those who enjoy the “Little House on the Prairie” or L.M. Montgomery books. I would recommend this book also because of its status as a “classic”.

Age Range: 10-13

Ranking: Quality – 4/5 Popularity – 3/5

Moose Flanagan is the 12 year old son of an Alcatraz electrician/guard. His family lives on the island along with the other guards’ families, the warden’s family in their mansion and some of the most notorious prisoners of the mid-thirties. His parents took this job so that they could pay for a private school for his sister Natalie, who is different. Although it was not a diagnosed disease at the time, we can tell that Natalie is autistic. Moose struggles to do the right thing for himself, for his family and for his sister. He wants to fit in to his new school but the warden’s daughter Piper makes things very difficult for him, especially when she wants him to break the warden’s rules.

This book was a super fun read. Moose’s character was well developed and you could really see his world. I liked that the depression was only mentioned in passing. This was really Moose and Natalie’s stories, and not the story of 1930s America. Moose’s feelings were well articulated showing how he both loved and resented his sister at the same time. The notes at the end showing what parts of the story were based on historical fact and which were fictionalized was very helpful. This would be a great resource for further non-fiction reading, a preference for many boys.

Age range: 11 plus

Ranking: Quality – 5/5 , Popularity – 5/5