For fans of The Hazel Wood, this middle grade novel takes the dark stuff of fairytales and crafts it into a powerful story of friendship and light. “Once I picked the book up, I didn’t set it down until I finished it with tears in my eyes. . .” —The New York Times Book Review Every evening Lampie, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, must light a lantern to warn ships away from the rocks, but one … light a lantern to warn ships away from the rocks, but one stormy night disaster strikes. The lantern is not lit, a ship is wrecked, and someone must pay.
To work off her debt, Lampie is banished to the Admiral’s lonely house, where a monster is rumored to live. The terrors inside the house aren’t quite what she thought they would be–they are even stranger. After Lampie saves the life of the neglected, deformed son of the admiral, a boy she calls Fish, they form a close bond. Soon they are pulled into a fairytale adventure swimming with mermaids, pirates, and misfits. Lampie will discover the courage to fight for friendship, knowledge, and the freedom to be different.
more
Recieved an ARC from Netgalley
I’m not sure there are words for how odd and great this book is but I’m going to try! I have never read a book written in this style, it is so unique and well done that it wasn’t hard to read and added to this engrossing story. A twisty tale of loss and sadness, mermaids and pirates, and the worst and best in humanity, it gave me A Series of Unfortunate Events vibes but it also has a lightness that brings a smile to your face. The characters have a way of pulling at your heartstrings and cheering them on. This is a dark fantasy, fairytale-like story that I would recommend for middle grade to adult readers. Happy reading!
Reading this book was a breath of fresh air! Adventure, fantasy, pirates, mermaids and monsters – there’s plenty within these pages to intrigue readers of all ages.
Young Lampie, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter, tries her best to take care of her depressed and disabled father since the death of her mother. She walks the stairs each night to light the lamp and knows how important a job it is. But she’s still a child and she gets caught up in her thoughts sometimes. When evening is falling and a bad storm is starting, she realizes that she forgot to buy more matches to light the lamp. She goes out in what soon becomes a fierce storm to get some from the shop in town, but before she can get back to the lighthouse, the wind has blown her basket with the matches away. In the darkness, a ship crashes upon the rocks.
Lampie and her father are told they must repay the cost of the ruined ship. Lampie is taken from her home and placed in the Black Manor, the Admiral’s house, to help Martha, the housekeeper. No one from town wants anything to do with the house, or the people in it. Everyone knows a monster lives there, and it’s dangerous! Best to stay away altogether. The day Lampie arrives happens to be the day that Joseph, who takes care of the monster, dies. No one else will even consider going upstairs to where the monster lives, so Lampie becomes its new caretaker.
What follows is a charming tale of optimism, bravery, discovering what’s important and what’s not. Old ideas are challenged, friendships are made, differences are exposed, acknowledged and respected. It isn’t only Lampie that grows into her own as events unfold.
As is true with all fairy tales, there is a dark side to the book. Child abuse, neglect, discrimination, and lechery are at play as well. But goodness wins out because light overtakes the dark and because acts of kindness matter. In fact they matter so much that little acts of kindness can change people and situations; they are so powerful, they can change the world.
My thanks to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for granting me access to an ARC of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions stated here are my own. My thanks, also, to the author, for reminding me that I’m never too old to read fairy tales!! This book earns 5 stars from me!
ittle Lampie, the lighthouse keeper’s young daughter has forgotten to purchase matches to light the lighthouse lamp and rushes out in the terrible storm to get some. By the time she makes it back, it’s too late. A ship has struck the rocks and is wrecked. When the sheriff and other townspeople show up, they discover that Lampie had been the one lighting the lamp, her alcoholic one-legged father merely residing in the lighthouse. Lampie is taken away immediately to work off the debt her family now owes for the cost of the ship and its contents, while her father is walled into the lighthouse.
Working her debt off as a servant at the Admirals house, she soon settles into life there, but when she discovers the deformed son of the admiral locked up in a tower, she takes the time to make friends with him, shocking the others that live there. When Edward, the admiral’s son, and Lampie head out on an adventure, the fun and excitement begin.
This is an absolutely charming children’s tale, but it’s not your usual rainbows and unicorns. This story is dark and gritty, set in a time when young children were forced to work Our poor motherless protagonist had to deal with an alcoholic father, forcing her to actually have to make sure that the lamp in the lighthouse was lit each night and extinguished the next morning. After she is taken away following the shipwreck, she is placed into a position in the house as a helper to work off the cost of that wreck. It’s only when she meets Edward that the adventure actually begins. Mermaids, a town fair with a sideshow full of strange characters, and pirates await the pair.
The story for me does drag in some areas, making it hard to get through those parts, but it’s well worth it. The adventure, the sea, the pirates and mermaids await you.
**I received an ARC of this story from the publisher and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.