Laura Amy Schlitz

This book would probably be good for younger teens - of course, I am nowhere near being a younger teen (or even an older teen) and I enjoyed it, so...

The story is set in the early 1900s. We are introduced to Maud, who is an orphan, as she is singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic while locked in the outhouse for misbehaving. Poor Maud has been neglected for so long that she would do almost anything to get someone to notice her and care about her. This part of her character makes what happens to her when the Hawthorne sisters take her from the orphanage and into their home believable. She wants to please them, no matter what they ask - even if what they ask her to do is dishonest. She generally does what the sisters want her to do without too much hesitation. That is, until she meets Mrs. Lambert, who has tragically lost her only daughter - a victim of drowning - about a year before. Also, she starts to realize that the Hawthorne's deaf maid may actually be concerned about her. Maud then begins to really struggle with what she is being asked to do. She is faced with some tough choices for such a young girl. What will she do? I'm not telling! It's worth the read to find out!… (more)

I'd recommend this book to kids looking for something challenging, spooky, and full of mystery and magic. The length (400 pages) and font size (too small) were, at first, daunting and put me off starting the book, but by the end of the first chapter I was hooked.

Splendors and Glooms begins with a witch, a rich girl, and puppets. It's set in the Victorian era, when London was a dirty, frightening place, especially for an orphan. Our heroes, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall, are two orphans with the same guardian--the freaky, villainous Gaspare Grisini, a master puppeteer with magical abilities. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are basically Grisini's slaves, dragging his puppet cart around London and helping him perform shows to earn a meager living.

Our rich girl, Clara Wintermute, happens upon one of Grisini's puppet shows, and thus launches the action of the book. Grisini, Lizzie Rose, and Parsefall, are invited to visit Clara's home on her birthday to put on a show and the results are disastrous.

Author Laura Amy Schlitz did so many excellent things with this book. First, she made her villains human, but none the less frightening for their humanity. She made her heroes likable and distinct. The readers can see into the heads of Lizzie Rose, Parsefall, and Clara, and so we understand that Lizzie Rose is always striving to be good (I particularly loved it when Lizzie Rose consciously chose to make decisions as if she were the youngest sister in a fairy tale--always the most noble one). We understand that Parsefall is dirty, sneaky, and often frightened, but in possession of a strong conscience when it comes to Lizzie Rose. And we see that Clara, though pampered, has suffered almost as much Parsefall.

This book makes no mistakes, except that its dark, intimidating appearance may scare away potential readers. Some have said that it's overlong, but I enjoyed every word. For the dedicated reader, this will be a treasure.… (more)