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Loading... Vardin Village (edition 2014)by Maggie Spence
Work InformationVardin Village by Maggie Spence
   No current Talk conversations about this book. 1   krazykiwi | Aug 22, 2016 |   This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways. This was my chapter a night book but I could have easily read it in a sitting or two. It was an easy relaxing read good for all ages. (  ) Kimmyd76 | Feb 25, 2015 | This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways. This book by Spence was a warm book about two young children left by their mother who managed to keep things going until they had a whole "village" of people to help. It was an interesting tale and one I had to keep turning the pages so that I could find out what was going to happen.J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the Isms" "Wesley's Wars" and "To Whom It May Concern" ( )1 whoizme8 | Jan 18, 2015 | This review was written for LibraryThing Member Giveaways. Vardin Village is the story of George a 16 year old trying to raise hos little sister Eleanor because his Mom is a drunk and his Dad died. They are relatives of the founding Father of Vardin Village but due to an old will from George Vardin VI the only inheritance the family was given was the small cottage they live in. The story weaves a great tale about how small group of adults comes to George and Eleanor aide. A fun , heartwarming read. A story for all ages. ( )1 Georgiann | Nov 8, 2014 |  )1 autumnturner76 | Sep 22, 2014 | no reviews | add a review
Sixteen-year-old, George Vardin, lives in Perfectville, MidAmerica in a crappy, ramshackle cottage. The electricity was shut off weeks ago, the roof is about to implode and the creaky front porch overlooks the ancestral mansion that his father lost because of his drug abuse. George is not sure which is more breathtaking; the view or the irony. George's life is about to suck even more because school starts next week and he can't scrape up enough money to pay his cell phone bill let alone the fee to play varsity football. Uncle Morris shows up from one of his weird international jaunts and offers a creative solution to keep George and his sister together under one roof. It's a much larger, less leaky roof, with a breathtaking view of the crappy, ramshackle cottage. Crafty Morris reveals a secret tunnel that leads to the mansion and consequently some Vardin family secrets that will make junior year unforgettable.Reginald, the proper curator of the mansion-turned-museum, has his doubts about the new living arrangement but he also has good reason to befriend George. Morris enlists the aid of a waitress from the diner and a cranky old security guard to make up the proverbial "village" that's needed to raise a child. Even a slightly dysfunctional, eccentric village can get the job done unless, of course, a greedy lawyer and his popular quarterback son hate your guts. It seems not all of the villagers are buying into the pesky proverb. It seems some villagers don't want to raise a child. Some villagers just want to destroy George and shred what's left of his family name. To stay in Vardin Village, George must follow clues left by his grandfather to unlock the past and preserve his future. No library descriptions found. |
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It commits probably the worst sin of any book, it's just very very dull. By chapter 7, we've managed to reach the end of the blurb, and I would rather scratch my eyes out than continue reading and figure out what the big "secrets" are. The writing style is very mid-last-century childrens novel, rather than YA, and it reads to me much more middle grade.
The second major sin is the big plot hole: Nobody notices the missing mother. It's such a tiny town, everyone knows everyone's family tree, who is friends with who, but nobody notices two kids left alone without electricity - an unlit house in a residential street in a town this small, where you know people are living? that is not going to go unnoticed. Having the few adults who do find out about the situation simply enable it with a ridiculous plan, would be ridiculous plot hole number two. Suspension of disbelief can only go so far, and the boxcar children already used all mine up on this plot.
Other issues: The paperback formatting is whacko--indents AND spaces between paragraphs--so there's very little text on a page, although admittedly the ebook formatting is okay. CHARACTERS WHO YELL IN ALL CAPS instead of just normal dialog tags showing such.
As for a summer read, given the overly simple style, it took me no time to read as far as I did, and according to the look inside, only 33 chapters (so that was a quarter of the book). I'd probably knock the whole thing off in under an hour, if I actually wanted to finish it.
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