THE GIRL FROM THE ATTIC

After moving to a new house, a girl finds a portal to its previous residents from a century ago.

Not only has Maddy’s mom remarried and gotten pregnant, but Dan, her new, annoying stepdad, has moved them from Toronto to an old octagonal house in the countryside. On the mend from a bad bout of bronchitis and still tackling her asthma, the tween begins exploring her unusual house. A black cat helps her discover a door in the woodshed’s loft, and once opened, it becomes a portal from her present in 2001 to the house’s previous residents, nearly 100 years earlier. Through numerous trips back and forth between these time periods, Maddy observes Eva, a girl with consumption, and meets Eva’s brother, Clarence, who goes by Clare. In this quiet and evenly paced blend of fantasy and historical fiction, Maddy notes the similarities between Eva’s and her own health conditions and becomes determined to work with Clare to save Eva. A soap-making scheme introduces readers to farm life at the beginning of the 20th century. But as problems also mount in her own time, Maddy realizes that she’s been neglecting the real people who need her most. Although never didactic, this gentle narration, enhanced with quaint black-line drawings, emphasizes building family relationships and accepting responsibility for one’s actions. Characters follow a White default.

Uncommon elements give this time-travel novel a charming spin.