Author: Betty Ren Wright
Publisher/Year: Scholastic / 1985
Source/Format: Shelves / Print
Date Finished: 7 April 2012
Book # 23
Buy | Borrow | Accept | Avoid
The Short and Sweet of It
Amy, twelve years old and searching for independence, finds a dollhouse in her aunt's attic, a perfect replica of the house her father grew up in, and the dolls are trying to tell her something, to reveal a secret long-kept, a secret about their murder.
A Bit of a Ramble
Spoiler Alert. I just hate it when whodunit has never been mentioned before the big reveal. To me, a mystery should be one you can solve while reading, but this story has a culprit never even hinted at throughout the entirety of the book. That just drives me crazy. End Spoiler.
The mystery here is intriguing: Years ago, Amy's aunt comes home one night to find her grandparents murdered and her brother (our protagonist's father) hiding in a closet. No one was ever arrested. Now, the dollhouse is trying to reveal the truth behind the murders. This isn't some missing jewelry type children's mystery; this is some serious stuff. And I appreciate that in my middle grade fiction.
The real heart of the story to me, though, is the subplot involving Amy and her brain-damaged sister Louann. Amy's mother expects her to watch her sister Louann, to spend time with her, a lot of time, like every day a lot of time. Amy wants her own life though; she wants her own friends, and she feels like Louann scares people away because of her difference. In order to get a break from Louann, Amy moves in with her Aunt Claire for a bit. Her mother and Louann make her feel very, very guilty about this. The "Am I My Brother's Keeper?" story is nothing new, but despite my single child status, I somehow connect to stories like this. I can feel Amy's frustration at not having her own life, her embarrassment about her sister, and her guilt about that embarrassment and frustration.
While I was a bit disheartened by the lack of explanation of Louann's brain-damage - she was just born that way - I did appreciate her growth as a being separate from her sister throughout the book. Amy wanted time away from Louann, but Louann almost needed it without knowing it. Her time away with an adult with a mentally challenged daughter (or niece, I can't remember right now) does a world of good for her. She is challenged to learn how to do things on her own, to try new experiences, in a way her family does not. It's not that her family doesn't love her and want her to be strong and independent; it's that their guilt and the habit of taking care of her prevent them from seeing her true potential. What's odd about everything I'm saying here is that I get all of this out of a subplot. I almost with there was more on all of this instead of on the murder-dollhouse-mystery.
Overall, this is a worthy read, and I and Madison enjoyed it during our middle-of-the-night feedings.
When I first read the author's name, I could not figure out where I had heard it before. A quick Google search solved my confusion though as Wright as also written: The Summer of Mrs. MacGregor, Christina's Ghost, Ghosts Beneath Our Feet, Haunted Summer, and Too Many Secrets, all books from my childhood which I still have on the shelves. No wonder I recognized the name.
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Question: Does anyone know of any middle grade books that deal with a situation like Amy and Louann's?
NOTES
This counts for my GOAL #1: Read Books I Own
This book looks very familiar and sounds like something I would have loved to read as an adolescent, so I am guessing I read it at some point but who knows. I love the dollhouse aspect. I have always had a fascination for dollhouses.
ReplyDeleteMe too! My grandfather made me one when I turned five, and it's fantastic.
DeleteTrisha - I remember this book and really enjoyed it once upon a time. I'd really like to reread it, but I don't have any suggestions for you about similar reads.
I also would be a little annoyed about the big reveal being botched like that. I need to have more of a solid clue as to who the culprit might be. I do think that the subplot of the mentally challenged sister sounds rather interesting, and like something that I would really get a lot out of. This book sounds extremely original, and like something that I need to look for, for my daughter, and myself. Fantastic review today! I really enjoyed reading your perceptions on this one.
ReplyDeleteI read this one a long time ago, when I taught a 5/6th grade class. I remember thinking it was a nice little story. Entertaining. Well-done. Not a prize winner, but a good read overall.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember any of the children who read it complaining about the ending, though it's not something they would have noticed. It was a book they enjoyed reading, and then went back to devouring Goosebumps. :-P
If this is the book I'm thinking of, I read it ages ago and it disturbed me so profoundly I still think about it sometimes. *shudders*
ReplyDeleteI can totally see how this would be disturbing.
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ReplyDeleteDude, I'd forgotten that I read this book! Read it yonks ago, and don't remember a thing about it. Thanks for jogging the ol' memory.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember this book. It reminds me of the Nancy Drew series. I was just thinking I should re-read them now as an adult. So glad Madison enjoyed it as well ;)
ReplyDeleteHoly hell. I remember reading this book in elementary school. Just seeing the cover art gave me the weird tunnel vision feeling you get when you instantly recall something from years ago (remember the scene with the food critic in "Ratatouille"?)
ReplyDeleteOMG, I remember reading this book when I was younger! That cover exactly, too! I think I loved it, but I don't remember. It's funny because now that I think of it, I read more creepy books when I was younger (such as Wait Till Helen Comes, which was CREEPY), but now that I'm older, I just cannot stomach them at all! They completely freak me out.
ReplyDeleteI read this book when I was younger but I don't remember it much. I too appreciate that the mystery was a real one and not just snatched jewelry or something. I've read a few books by this author, but sadly I don't remember them all.
ReplyDeleteFOr some reason, the idea of this and the cover just FREAK ME OUT!
ReplyDeleteThis book scared the poo out out me when I read it in elementary school. Part of that might have been that I had a dollhouse on my dresser and I sat the book down next to it before I went to bed and then I lay there wondering if the dolls were going to come to life and murder each other. Quite traumatic! I don't even remember a disabled sister. It was all about the kill kill.
ReplyDeleteI remember this book! I loved it but had nightmares after reading it. This is probably the perfect book to read closer to Halloween.
ReplyDeleteOh, my gosh, I haven't seen this book in YEARS! I totally loved this when I was younger. It creeped me out, but I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI loved this book when I was kid. Maybe because I always coveted those huge doll houses that I would see.
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