Oddfellow's Orphanage

Gr 4–6—This debut novel chronicles a young orphan, Delia, and her arrival and life at Oddfellow's Orphanage. The institution seems to attract unique characters, including a tattooed girl, a young hedgehog, and a boy with an onion head. While the characters are unusual, the book lacks a plot and a true story line. Dialogue is limited, with readers learning about the residents through brief cameo pages that open each chapter. Even the story of how Delia comes to arrive at the orphanage isn't revealed until the blurb before the last chapter, which informs readers that she is an albino who was saved from a horrible attack in the sideshow where she worked by pretending to be a pile of laundry. The author has been a successful online artist, and this book appears to be a way to build a story around some of her prints, but the quaint illustrations will not be enough to keep readers interested.—Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH