Starred review from February 1, 2017
Family dysfunction receives mystical resolution in this Swedish import by Astrid Lindgren winner Sanden.Thomasine finds herself living in the enormous house of her dying great-great-aunt Henrietta with her depressed and grieving father, her awkward academic uncle and his children, Signe and Erland, and her angry aunt and her daughter, Wilma (the oldest of the cousins). The children sense the palpable tension among the adults over Henrietta's pending death, but when silent, 5-year-old Signe returns from a wardrobe during a game of hide-and-seek and talks about a girl she met in it, Thomasine finds this hard to believe. But as each of the cousins visits the wardrobe, it positively transforms them, and although Thomasine doesn't realize it until nearly the end of the novel, these wardrobe visits also connect them with their family history. While emphasizing death as an essential part of life, this story places children at the center of the emotional healing process for the adults, which at times means that the child must tell the adult to be quiet, listen, and pay attention. Both macabre and hopeful, this Swedish gothic, with Schulman's wispy illustrations depicting the characters as white and adding to its mystery, will remind readers of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Coraline, and perhaps other fantasies in which a quotidian household object becomes a portal into another world. A thought-provoking read that will linger long after the last page. (Fantasy. 9-12)
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March 1, 2017
Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Thomasine and her family have taken up an unwilling vigil in the dark, silent, and nearly empty home of her great-great-aunt Henrietta. As the days pass slowly by, the adults bicker and the children roam the house endlessly, while they wait for Henrietta to pass away. But when the youngest cousin finds a locked cabinet filled with all the mirrors that are missing from the house, Thomasine and her family are transported to a miraculous place, a world where they may confront their fears and sadness and regain the happiness they've lost. Thomasine and her family are all deeply and richly realized characters. While they are physically present in the sprawling house, there is a vast distance among them, and their loneliness and sorrow permeate the story. The prose is delicate and deftly conveys complicated emotions, and the black-and-white illustrations in each chapter add welcome, surreal imagery to the tale. Grief is portrayed with simple and touching accuracy. The magical elements are not fully explained, they do help the characters grow and change for the better. VERDICT A worthy purchase for medium and large collections.-Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library
Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 15, 2017
Grades 5-8 Thomasine and her father have been living in their great-great-aunt Henrietta's gloomy house for months, waiting for her to die. Also living there are her aunt, uncle, and their respective children. To say that this family group is dysfunctional would be an understatement. Thomasine's father is deeply depressed, and all his brother and sister seem to care about is how much money they can get for the house when Henrietta dies. The children all have issues and problems as well. Then a wardrobe in a spare room filled with all the mirrors in the house provides a door into a mirror world where a girl named Hetty lives and grows older with subsequent visits. One by one, most of the people are healed and transformed. This somber yet hopeful story is seen through Thomasine's perspective. Her gift of perception helps her solve the mystery of Hetty and bring events full circle. Schulman's black-and-white illustrations capture the haunting sense of mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)