THE OGRESS AND THE ORPHANS

A once-idyllic town blames an outsider for its woes.

Long ago, a fire claimed Stone-in-the-Glen’s beloved Library, which started a sequence of events that eroded all of the nicest things about the town, changing the identity of the place and the townspeople alike as citizens grew suspicious and closed off from one another. When the town fails to support the Orphan House, one orphan runs away so as to not take more resources. Cass is rescued and brought back by the sweet-natured Ogress who lives on a farm at the edge of Stone-in-the-Glen. But her return is spied by a man who misunderstands and thinks the Ogress is abducting children, and the townspeople become riled up against the Ogress by the self-serving, strife-loving Mayor. When the adults won’t listen to the children, they must find another way to help their generous neighbor and repair their broken community. The story’s told from a broadly omniscient perspective through slow, thoughtful pacing. Readers will make connections before the characters do—especially regarding the true nature of the villain—and they are given narrative assurance of a happy ending. This offers young audiences security as they grapple with nuanced, realistic portrayals of people who are neither all good nor all bad. It also gives them space to form their own opinions on the book’s philosophical and thematic questions, including the refrain: “The more you give, the more you have.” Main human characters read as White.

Combines realistic empathy with fantastical elements; as exquisite as it is moving.