Skary Childrin And The Carousel Of Sorrow (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This book reminded me somewhat of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" but I liked this book much more. The scary children are Adelaide, Maggie, and Beatrice. They have been isolated from the rest of their peers, at the Madame Gertrude's School for girls, by the headmistress Mrs. Merryweather. She blames the three girls for just about anything that goes wrong so that they are in a constant state of punishment. When the twelfth librarian, to work with the girls, reaches the school she is a breath of fresh air and kindness. Her name is Miss Delia. She likes the girls but mysteriously disappears on the very next day after her arrival at the school. The girls begin an investigation of her disappearance while simultaneously befriending a town boy named Steffen.It turns out there have been several unexplained disappearances recently. Coincidentally, a carousel has landed in Widowsbury and that is just a complete anomaly in this town where everything runs the same way all the time. I liked how we found out that each of the three girls had special abilities but those were not highlighted. In fact, it seemed like the skills might even be imagined. Even though the girls are excluded that does not mean they are friends with each other from the get go, either. I really liked that. I enjoyed watching their friendship grow and the culmination of the three working as a team to achieve some remarkable rescuing was very cool. The concept of what was happening in the town and why evil needed to be satiated actually was very deep. The way it was described by the "keeper of the carousel" was so sad and far reaching. It made you think deeply about bullying and the scars of that and also how some people do cope unsatisfactorily with bullying through revenge. It was at this point in the book that I flipped it over to make sure it was young adult because I felt you would need some higher ordered thinking and emotions to grapple with the content. This I think was another plus. As the reader you are taking in the information but wow, what a carefully crafted climax and lesson. Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows is a book that I purchased at ALA this year. What initially drew me to the book was not only the cover but the spelling of the title Skary Childrin. Right off the bat I knew this book would be a fun and slightly spooky read and great for my Middle Grade Monday feature! After flipping through the book I knew I had to purchase it because the illustrations are pretty awesome!Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows centers around the three main characters who are the “outcasts” of their private boarding school in a town that hates outsiders or anything new. Adelaide is believed to be a werewolf, Maggie has super-human strength and Beatrice says she can see and talk to ghosts. Everything that ever goes wrong at the school is always blamed on the three of them and they spend most of their days in detention. Weird things start to happen around town when a mysterious carousel appears and people start to go missing!Even though this is a middle grade novel, I still didn't catch on to whom the villain was until he was revealed. After the villain tells his story, I found myself feeling sorry for him even though he was doing all these terrible things. He was a product of those who bullied him when he was a child.I really enjoyed the overall message that the story gave. Be better than those who bully you because you still have a choice to make the right decision. The villain gave the three girls a chance to take revenge on those who bullied them and in the end they made the right decision. Even though they were still considered “outcasts” and not well liked, they had clean consciences.The story got a little scary at parts but it was really fun to read! I give Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows 4 hearts for being a little spooky but also sending out a great message to the younger audience!
What do You think about Skary Childrin And The Carousel Of Sorrow (2011)?
is this supposed to be series? still vague about adelaide's upbringing.
—Lacy
I need this book in my life like right now.I love the cover!
—Nadz
