“Listen. This is a story about an ogress.”
How can you resist an opening line like that?
Having heard about this book and reading the blurb online, I was keen to read it. When it happened to arrive one day, it was a sealed fate. I would need to know more and dive in!
The story is brilliantly laid out for the reader with a narrator we are uncertain of at times. Told with heart and with the overwhelming message of kindness throughout, this story needs to be read, shared and discussed.
I loved the entire story, learning about the town of Stone in the Glen, it’s history and the sadness, anger and distrust that breed there, ever since the arrival of one particular person!
As you read, the different threads of this story begin to interweave and make more sense. Orphan House has been a refuge for generations of orphans in Stone on the Glen, though now it is in disrepair and the growing children are nearer to starvation than ever before!
The dragons, the Ogress, the orphans and the crows…Each play a vital part in the story and it goes without saying that one cannot exist without the others, each moves the story forward in unexpected ways.
Wonderfully woven, there is much to love about the heart and kindness interspersed throughout the story. Narrated with enough clues to bring it all together for the reader, you can’t help but smile as you read, see justice served and neighbours remembering neighbours.
The power of kindness, the power and weight of words are both celebrated throughout the story, from the Ogress leaving more and more food and treats for the lonely and sad residents to the books being re-discovered and discussed, …”watched as people’s faces lit up as they discussed their stories. How gently they held those books in their hands.”
The orphans are good, and most people in the town are but they have been brainwashed. A town of disruption, distrust and dislike, ensuring all lock their doors, stay away from each other and spread rumours and hatred are the outcome!
As we know from reading children’s books, it is always the children who make the best heroes, those constantly fighting for right and good, and this story is no different.
Heartwarming, magical and overwhelmingly kind, this is the book you need to read this year!
My Shelves Are Full 