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bummerdays's review against another edition
4.0
A perfectly gothic middle readers book. An easy read for an adult but would definitely help younger readers with their vocabulary. It's haunting and creepy and fun. I first read this book in 2008, before I used goodreads to keep track of my books, and for 8 years I thought of this book but couldn't remember it's name or author. Thankfully my local library is small and I managed to find it again but simply browsing the shelves.
librarygirlreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Another of the possible Newbery winners... This one is sort of Southern Gothic-lite. The setting is Depression-era Louisiana, and our heroine is another preternaturally adult child (12). Her mother seems to be one of those girl/women who never should have had children, and her father just goes along with Mom. When Mom leaves, Dad takes Tennyson and her sister to his family's old, decaying mansion - once one of five plantations the family owned, pre-Civil War.
While there, Tennyson starts dreaming about the War and what went on in the family then (honestly, it reminded me a little too much of the Green Knowe series in that regard). As a way to find her mother, she sends a story about this time to The Sophisticate magazine. Long story short, the effete editor loves the story, publishes it, it's a hit and he's sent to find the author and get him(!) to publish the rest in book form.
Of course, in Southern Gothic, nothing goes quite right. By the end of the book, her mother has written one of the most selfish "Dear John" letters to her daughter, her relatives feel she's betrayed them by writing about the Sacred Family History, and she's gone from being an "old child" to just being "old" (while still being 12).
Do I believe this character? No. The setting and atmosphere really worked for me but the characters just felt like caricatures. I also felt the ending was rushed, with almost an "oh, dear, how can I end this?" quality to it.
While there, Tennyson starts dreaming about the War and what went on in the family then (honestly, it reminded me a little too much of the Green Knowe series in that regard). As a way to find her mother, she sends a story about this time to The Sophisticate magazine. Long story short, the effete editor loves the story, publishes it, it's a hit and he's sent to find the author and get him(!) to publish the rest in book form.
Of course, in Southern Gothic, nothing goes quite right. By the end of the book, her mother has written one of the most selfish "Dear John" letters to her daughter, her relatives feel she's betrayed them by writing about the Sacred Family History, and she's gone from being an "old child" to just being "old" (while still being 12).
Do I believe this character? No. The setting and atmosphere really worked for me but the characters just felt like caricatures. I also felt the ending was rushed, with almost an "oh, dear, how can I end this?" quality to it.
book_nut's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting book. Good mood, good characters, fascinating look at the south, both in the Depression and during the Civil War. I didn't even mind the abrupt ending; I felt like the story had run itself out, and to go on would just be superfluous.
laurahorn's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the history of this and I liked the literary references, since I was an English major. However, I found the book in our middle school library and I don't really see many of the middle school kids sticking with this beyond the slow beginning.
rcaivano's review against another edition
Sort of a double historical novel. The story is set during the depression, but she has true dreams taking her back to the civil war. Liked it.
abigailbat's review against another edition
3.0
The year is 1932 and 11-year-old Tennyson Fontaine's high-strung, artistic mother has left, leaving her two daughters to be dropped off at their ancestral home, Aigredoux. This crumbling Louisiana plantation home has been deteriorating since the Civil War, much to the distress of Tennyson's Aunt Henrietta who lives at Aigredoux and struggles to find the money to repair it. Trapped in a creepy, falling-down house with relatives who can only cling to the past, Tennyson must come up with a plan to bring her mother back. When Tennyson discovers that her dreams are telling her the story of Aigredoux's history, she has an idea... but is it enough to bring her mother back? And what haunting secrets will she learn through her dreams?
Life and the characters at Aigredoux are suitably creepy. I loved the gothic tone and all the details that made the crumbling plantation come to life. I generally dislike dreams as a literary device, but the premise worked here. The house was almost another character in the story and it made sense that it would sneak into Tennyson's dreams, communicating its history. I would have given the book a higher rating, but it ended so abruptly and there was so much more to be wrapped up... I feel jilted... My only other criticism (and this is something I noticed in The Rising Star of Rusty Nail, too) is that sometimes the dialogue sounds anachronistic and that jolted me out of the story occasionally.
Life and the characters at Aigredoux are suitably creepy. I loved the gothic tone and all the details that made the crumbling plantation come to life. I generally dislike dreams as a literary device, but the premise worked here. The house was almost another character in the story and it made sense that it would sneak into Tennyson's dreams, communicating its history. I would have given the book a higher rating, but it ended so abruptly and there was so much more to be wrapped up... I feel jilted... My only other criticism (and this is something I noticed in The Rising Star of Rusty Nail, too) is that sometimes the dialogue sounds anachronistic and that jolted me out of the story occasionally.