The Unadoptables by Hanna Tooke - ADVISABLE

The Unadoptables by Hanna Tooke,  384 pages. Viking (Penguin), June 2020.

Content: G (some danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

For twelve years five children, Milou, Fenna, Sem, Lotta, and Egg arrived at the the Little Tulip Orphanage in Amsterdam. Though years ago they gave up ding adopted, determined to stay together, and now they are called the Unadoptables. But Mistress Gaasbeek has a plan for them - selling them off to an evil man, so the five of them escape, following a clue from Milou’s meager possessions to an abandoned mill outside the city. There they must find a way to hide from the authorities and stay out of the clutches of Mr. Rotman, who still wants them as slave labor. Can they concoct a successful plan?

Students who enjoy Lemony Snicket can easily be steered towards this also. Tooke balances out the terrifying moments with scenes of ingenuity and triumph.

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher